Artemis Fowl: The Ultimate Rival
by EvaliaPoison
Summary: Ruby Wang: The Ultimate Rival for the criminal genius, and has been in contact with the Haven since she as seven. A game entwines for all three sides to play: Artemis, Ruby and the Haven. Entering the realm of romance...
1. Prologue ultimate rival

This is the first fanfic, which I've actually uploaded onto this site (I couldn't be bothered to upload any of the others, or type some of them up) so I hope you all enjoy it! Please R&R! The prologue is really down, so even if you don't like it, read the first chapter. If you don't like that, well, then…

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**Artemis Fowl: The Ultimate Rival **

**Prologue **

_Fowl Manor _

There usually isn't much to do when you live in a Manor, though this was clearly an exception for Artemis Fowl the second. Not that he did a lot, and Angela was getting worried. He was always in his rooms, and last time she sent Juliet to check, he was _still _in his study. However, whenever Angela tried to persuade him out, he always answered in his usual impassive and polite tone,

"I can't, mother, I'm busy."

Right he was, he really _was _busy. In fact, you could say he was on a mission. A mission to do with the fairies from the Haven, whom he hadn't bothered for about five years…

_The Haven _

_Major Holly Short was looking worried, and so was the grey centaur next to her._

"_Well," Holly began, "What are we going to do? So someone managed to hack into your online barriers, they could do anything with everything now, but for what reason?" Foaly sighed._

"_Exactly. It must be that mud girl- Ruby. She warned me something of a sort, but I took it satirically. I mean, she hasn't been in contact since she was seven until last Friday."_

_Holly thought for a minute or two._

"_It could be Artemis Fowl, you know," she said, but Foaly shook his head._

"_I don't think so. What motive could he possibly have? Besides, we haven't been in contact with him for years. It must be Ruby," he insisted._

"_I'll contact her tomorrow, then, when I can," she said finally._

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Okay, not exactly the best prologue, but the next chapter hits down. Please Review! I really want to know if you like it or not. Actually, read the first chapter, then review. Um, maybe just review! 


	2. Haven

Here's the first chapter- hope you like it! Please review afterwards coz I really want to know what you think about it...

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**Chapter 1- Haven's Secret**

_St Madeleine's Seminar for Young Ladies _

Artemis Fowl Junior woke from his deep slumber. All his fellow classmates were leaving for a break. There was a music workshop held today in the Fellerton Hall in the girl's school, and Artemis had fallen asleep.

_The internationally known composer Carl Leich, who you would have thought would have understood at least the simplest of concepts _thought Artemis tiredly. Artemis did not leave for the courtyard outside, where many groups of girls and boys were sitting to talk. Instead, he remained in his seat.

After the fifteen-minute break, the other students assembled back into the recital hall. Artemis Fowl didn't even bother listening to the speech. His works, in Artemis' opinion, were _unstructured and undefined_.

It was another hour till the workshop ended, and Artemis finally stood up. Everyone piled out of the hall, muttering excitedly about the famous composer and pianist. The last girl, however, did not seem to want to leave. She looked as if she was waiting to be the last one remaining, but Artemis made no sign of moving at all. She directed her gaze at Artemis.

"Are you going to leave?" she inquired pointedly.

"Not just yet," he responded coolly. The girl shrugged, and left the hall.

After a few minutes, he left the hall, to see a whole group gathering for lunch. Artemis was not used to the company of others, and walked off the opposite direction. It was his first time inside St Madeleine's Seminar for Young Ladies, because he didn't care for the meetings and activities that took place monthly between the two schools. He found himself in a private courtyard. He paused, surveying his surroundings. He was about to leave, when he heard a voice.

"No, Holly, I didn't do it," the voice protested. Artemis recognised it as the voice of the girl who had spoke to him in the hall. He frowned at the name Holly. It was a common enough name, especially in a girls' school, but Artemis stood rooted to his spot when he heard what the girl said next.

"I don't know why you're asking me, Foaly can find out for you in an instant." The girl sounded impatient. Artemis froze, and then shifted forwards to confront a narrow corridor, and the girl came into view, her back facing towards him, apparently talking to a micro bug.

_Was the Haven hiding things from him? _Artemis wondered. _Did this girl know Holly, and Foaly? _The girl ended her contact, saying,

"I better go now. Lunch would finish soon, and I wouldn't want to be searched for. Tell Foaly I upgraded my protections on my services. That'll be some game for him to play."

The girl was heading to where Artemis was, and he quickly went out of sight. She had long ebony-coloured hair with a pale face and ice black eyes. She was fairly tall and had broad shoulders, accentuated by her school blazer. Artemis decided to find out who she was, so followed her back to the group in the main courtyard. A pretty girl with auburn hair came running towards her.

"Ruby, there you are! I was looking for you everywhere! You just disappeared!"

"I was in the bathroom," she lied, and Artemis watched her carefully. _She was a good liar _he observed. For the rest of the afternoon, the girl- Ruby did nothing else unusual, so when Butler came to pick him up in the Bentley, Artemis racked his brains thinking hard.

When they arrived at The Manor, Artemis went straight to his room- to his study. Artemis' room was very large, and the entrance door opened up to a spacious sitting room. On one side was a carved wall opening to his bedroom, and on the other, was an opening to his study. Artemis fetched his best working laptop, and settled himself down onto one of the antique couches.

When he was logged in, he quickly surfed the net- All he had was a name, and that did not give him much information. Artemis tried the Interpol site, hacked into one of the databases, and typed in, "Ruby." No avail. Artemis was disappointed. He tried the school site: and managed to find a list of students. It was fortunate that Ruby was not a common name, and there were only two in the whole school. Artemis looked at the information thoughtfully. There was a Ruby _Macintyre _and a Ruby _Wang_. Artemis chose the latter, obviously, seeing as the girl he'd seen was Asian, or at least, part-Asian. Artemis ran a check just to make sure. It was. Artemis identified the school photo as the girl he had seen that day. He logged off his laptop, and placed it on a carved side table near him, closing his eyes.

"_It doesn't really matter," Ruby thought to herself. "He wouldn't know what it meant anyway." She shivered. "His face, though. It looked as if he understood."_

Artemis awoke from a light knock on his door. It was Butler.

"It's dinner. Your parents say that they want to see you out of your room more, and they want you to have dinner with them, instead of having it alone in your room."

Artemis sighed, but followed Butler downstairs into the dining hall where his parents were.

"Arty," Angela cried warmly, and stood up to hug him. "You haven't been out of your room for days, it was like you weren't there!"

Artemis smiled mechanically.

"I've been busy," he answered, and moved to a chair.

Artemis Senior surveyed his son. He was all too quiet and secretive. Artemis ate his dinner in silence, only shortly answering his mother's questions.

After dinner, Artemis decided to climb into his study. He used the personal computer on the far right- the one which he could communicate with Holly and the rest of the Haven, if he wished to. It was a little like and instant messenger, only it could be voice activated also, so as long as Holly was wearing a communicator (which she often did) they would be in contact.

"Artemis." Holly's voice sounded stiff and surprised. "How nice to talk to you again."

"Likewise," Artemis replied just as stiffly.

"Is there anything you need? I'm quite busy at the moment. We've got all sorts of problems rising-"

"Oh, yes," Artemis said, cutting her off. "Do you happen to know, or are you in contact with a girl- a human girl named Ruby? Ruby Wang?"

Silence followed.

"Yes," she replied finally. "I thought maybe one of you would find each other out. Well, all I can say is, it's about time."

"Tell me."

Silence.

Artemis' voice sounded low and eager as he leaned in on the microphone.

"Why don't you see if you can take a visit to the Manor tomorrow afternoon. Then you can explain everything. I'll be waiting."

"Done," Holly said, then added, grumbling, "I knew things would get worse."

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How was that? Maybe it was a little wierd, but only a little...the beginning actually came into my head when my school went to this music workshop- the composer was Carl too, only I changed the last name. Now...review time! 


	3. Rendezvous

I deserve to just crawl away and die, I know, but here is the second chapter! weak cheers. I haven't updated at all for like the past month because I lost heaps of documents, and I was so sad that I wasn't in the mood to write at all, so SORRY! And I had a piano exam to practise for, but it's all over, so voila...

n.b. **disclaimer: **My sister just reminded me. I don't own Artemis Fowl, Holly, Butler or Angeline at all as much as I want to own them. However smiles I _do _own Ruby, so there...

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**Chapter 2- Rendezvous**

St Bartlebys School for Young Gentlemen 

The girl tossed and turned in her bed. If not her, who was it? Did anyone else know about the Fairy Haven? Who else would know? Who else other than herself would be able to find them? She turned over and pulled her quilt up to her chin, and tried to go back to sleep…

The next day, Artemis spent a restless time during school. There was another new counsellor, and his mother decided to set an appointment. An appointment, Artemis thought dryly, that would drive him out of his business like all the others.

When it was time for him to meet the counsellor, Artemis left the classroom without any mention of where he was going, and walked towards the counsellor's office. To his most slight surprise, it was a middle-aged lady with a firm and decisive face.

"Ah…young Artemis Fowl junior, isn't it? Yes, your mother set up an appointment. She seemed to think you needed it, eh?"

"Indeed, Mrs Luxington," Artemis replied tonelessly, barely glancing at the lady's name badge. She clucked her tongue.

"Mmm…polite, yes quite so. I believe your mother thinks that you have trouble communicating with others."

"Personally, I believe I am quite capable of doing so," Artemis replied coolly. Mrs Luxington nodded with approval.

"Yes. You seem quite able to talk to others, so far as I can see. Perhaps it is your social behaviour? I've been reading your report; it seems that is the only subject the teachers think you need to improve on. Out of a very hazard guess, would it be because you think your fellow classmates are too immature, juvenile? Yes?"

Artemis said nothing. This was a counsellor who seemed to not be on the opposition, but on his side. Odd, he thought.

Mrs Luxington discussed the matter further, and Artemis found himself answering all her questions, and reluctantly agreeing with them. This lady, for some reason, seemed to get all the reasons. When the appointed was at an end, Mrs Luxington stood up, and said cheerfully,

"Well, that went alright, didn't it? I wouldn't say you went off with the fairies or anything like that, eh?"

Artemis looked up.

"Of course not," he said smoothly, then stood up too, and left the room.

After school, Artemis headed straight outside to the Manor gardens. The gardens were always a comfortable place to spend the afternoon, thought Artemis rarely visited it. It was summer, and the open lawn was freshly mown and a bright green. Whenever one of the People met at the Manor, they always had met under the large oak tree by the pond. Not that Artemis had met with them often. Sure enough, as Artemis peered about, he saw the shimmering haze by a nearby rose bush.

"Holly," he said, striding towards the shimmer. The shimmer was replaced by someone short, though taller than the last time he had seen her, with pointed ears and auburn hair, which had grown longer throughout the years. Major Holly Short.

"Artemis," Holly inclined. "How nice to see you all these years."

"The same to you," Artemis answered, and motioned her to sit on a bench nearby. There was an awkward pause. Then Artemis remembered the topic of the rendezvous.

"Ruby," he said steadily. Holly nodded her head.

"Yes," she said almost briskly.

"Tell me about her."

"Well", Holly began carefully, "She's been in contact with us since she was seven. She was always a good friend to the People, and we are all very fond of her."

"How did she make contact?" Artemis asked, feeling ever so slightly beaten, but pushed the feeling away.

"She met us by one of the ancient oak's too, only, you know, she did not abduct me and hold me ransom for the hostage fund." Holly accentuated the "she", and Artemis winced.

"I gave half of it back, you know," he said defensively, and Holly glared at him.

"Anyway," she continued, "She's the same age as you are, maybe a couple of months younger, though, I'm not sure. How did you find out about her? The People always made sure she was well protected."

"I met her at a musical workshop at her school," he said shortly. To his surprise, Holly smiled.

"How apt. I should have guessed. She was always a musical type of person. She plays the piano, you know."

"I assumed so." Artemis almost smiled. Just an ordinary person.

Holly nodded. "So are you going to talk to her?"

Artemis thought charily.

"I…don't know," he said finally, and Holly smirked.

"Does she know about me?" Artemis asked without thinking.

Holly raised her eyebrows.

"Of course not. Why would you have thought so?"

"Idiotic question," mumbled Artemis to himself, and Holly didn't quite catch what he said.

Artemis was feeling quite ambivalent now. What was he going to do about it? He had always assumed that he was the only human to have stayed in contact with the People, but he was mistaken. A rare happening for a prodigy like him.

"I should go now," Artemis said, after a while of consideration. "I have some work to complete."

"Go as you like." Holly waved a hand at him, and Artemis turned and headed back inside.

Holly stayed a good while after Artemis had left, musing under the great oak. The Mudboy had been surprised, Holly had seen with some satisfaction. Holly slipped out of the bench and took a once familiar ramble in the gardens, ignoring her mind's thoughts on all the paperwork she had to put through soon back at the Haven.

Should she have told him all of the truth? Holly wasn't sure. Told him about Ruby's hidden geniality, as a secret prodigy? That once Ruby found out about Artemis' doings with the People, she would become his equal rival, or more? That she played the violin just like Artemis, and more importantly, that Ruby wasn't always the best friend to the People like she had told him? That they haven't been in contact for years, like Artemis himself? Should Holly have told him?

"No," she thought. "No, not now. They can find out for themselves what's in stall for them."

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If there are any typos, please tell me...sorry again if you are mad at me-anyone who is reading this story. And please review... pleads I will upload soon-tomorrow! promises 


	4. Spoken Error

Ha! I said I would upload soon. I know that the last chapter, and this chapter is really wierd, but all would reveal itself in time...thank you to people who have reviewed...if you are reading this, do not leave the site till you've reviewed, I forbid you...

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Chapter 3- Spoken Error

_Rossertelli Performance Halls_

It was many months later when Artemis saw Ruby again. There was an international competition concert in the Rossertelli Halls, which included pianist Leonard Capova, and Artemis had been looking forward to seeing it for some time. Artemis happened to have a reserved seating at the top box, in which Artemis Fowl Senior had managed to get him, though was unable to attend himself.

Artemis made his way up the steps to the top box, closely followed by Butler, to where a tall man opened the door for them.

"Mr Fowl, your seat right here. Mr Butler, there at the back corner."

Butler, who didn't particularly care for classical music, so had reserved a seat at the back to do what he wished to do without disturbing anyone else.

The first thing Artemis noticed, however, was the girl sitting right next to his own reserved seat. Ruby. Artemis started in near surprise, but sat into his seat. She was wearing a red dress, and was staring intently at the front of the stage, even though nothing had started yet. Suddenly, she turned to face Artemis, and said,

"I apologise from ages back at the music workshop. My remarks were uncalled for."

Artemis stared at her, then nodded stiffly.

"Your name?" he asked, though he already knew it, but merely said it to be conversable, just to prove to Butler that he _could _communicate.

She hesitated.

"Ruby."

The performance began with the Vienna State Orchestra, or the Royal Philharmonic orchestra playing a prelude as a welcoming. There was silence throughout the entire performance, as expected of course, and it was two hours until the fifteen-minute break came around, and almost everyone filed out of the top box. Artemis noticed, however, that Ruby was looking curiously at him, and didn't follow everyone else out of the box. Artemis decided to say something.

"I there a problem," he said in his mechanically polite tone. Ruby frowned.

"No, there isn't. Do you play the violin? I noticed that your fingers move as if to correct whenever the soloists make an error."

"Yes, I do," Artemis said, surprised at her observations. _She is at least fairly intelligent._

"So do I," she said amiably. "What did you think of Michelle Zarb's playing?"

"Excellent," Artemis answered. "Best one out of all of the soloists."

Ruby nodded knowledgeably, her raven-coloured hair moving back and forth. "I thought so too," she agreed, and they began to discuss the further points of the first quarter performance till the end of the break.

Artemis didn't get another chance to talk to Ruby until the end of the whole concert, as she went out of the box abruptly for the rest of the breaks. When the concert ended, Ruby said unexpectedly,

"Perhaps I should audition for the orchestra."

Artemis turned. He had not thought she was a professional violinist, and before he started thinking, he said,

"I thought you played mainly the piano."

There. Artemis' big mistake. Ruby stared incredulously at him.

"How would you know?" she asked, and leaned in closer, highly curious. Artemis thought quickly, but not quick enough.

"I've never told you that, and I've never talked to you about anything before tonight, so how would you know if I did?"

Artemis shuffled in his chair uncomfortably, and said weakly,

"You look it. Your hands and fingers, the way they are made. I can tell, of course."

Ruby still did not look convinced, but let the topic go.

That night, when Ruby called Holly again, she found her different. Nervous, somehow. And the way Holly was always asking,

"_So it wasn't you who stuffed the network up?"_

_But if not her, who else would know about the People? And just how did Artemis know more then she had said? Ruby sighed, and rolled into her bed. She didn't connect the two together. Not just yet._

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There. They've met and all, now the story can go on normally...maybe...I do have a plot, but if you have any ideas, please tell me. The next chapter, hopefully, would be very long and interesting! 


	5. Unsolved Mystery

Here is chapter 4! This chapter is another interaction with Ruby, and another accidental slip...pleaz read and review because it will make me feel happy...it's the hols so I can write and upload as often as I feel like it, plus I'm in the mood to write an' all...

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**Chapter 4- Unsolved Mystery**

_The Haven_

The grey centaur trotted back and forth nervously beside the auburn-haired elf down in the Department Office.

"_Have you found any motive as to what the hacker wants?" Holly asked, pulling on a strand of her hair. It wasn't the two humans the Haven did know about, so who could it be. "Are you sure that it really couldn't be Artemis and that Ruby was telling the truth?"_

_Foaly nodded jadedly. _

"_I've told you Holly," he said with forced patience, "I've checked both of their lines. It can't possibly be any of the two." The centaur sighed, then added,_

"_But I've found out their motive, whoever they are, or at least what they are doing."_

_Holly whipped up to look at him._

"_What?"_

"_They're looking for something."_

"_Do you know what it is they're looking for?"_

_Foaly shook his head, almost ashamed-like, as if he should have known._

"_That's the problem. We don't know. But it's definitely a new Mudman."_

_Holly groaned._

"_That always means trouble."_

_However, Foaly wasn't always right. And Artemis Fowl Junior was working his task to success._

Fowl Manor 

Artemis Fowl Junior woke up late, an uncommon thing for him to do, but nevertheless, he was never without a reason. An extra few hours of remaining in his half sleep half planning state had given a great boost to his thoughts. So far, everything was good, and Artemis planned to spend all of his evenings working on that final project.

But as it was Saturday, and the day was warm, Artemis thought to purchase a new item for his recital hall. The renowned Göemer Von Stein would arrive in Ireland today, with his carved wares, including the finest made Blüthner ever recorded in history, and Artemis wanted it.

Artemis left his room and made his way down to the dining room, where his light breakfast was waiting. Artemis finished eating within minutes, and called for Butler, who instantly appeared.

"Remember our plans for today, Butler?"

"Of course," Butler answered smoothly, and followed Artemis to the black Bentley waiting outside on the drive. Butler opened the door for Artemis, then got into the drivers seat himself, and started the car.

It was more than half an hour of straight driving till they reached the city, and when Butler parked in one of the car parks, the two got out and headed towards a large store across the road, called Bellier's Music Supplies, the place where Von Stein was holding his sales. As Artemis entered the store, one of the store sellers approached them.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Von Stein is meant to arrive here, I hear?" Artemis said coldly.

"Oh yes. Down that way, in the hall room, where the displays usually are."

Artemis nodded curtly, and walked down the corridor, Butler following behind. The Blüthner was spotted as soon as Artemis walked in the room. It certainly _looked _splendid, with its solid, but intricate carvings on the legs of the piano as well as the stool. Von Stein was talking in a corner to a small group gathering at the other side of the room. Soon, however, Von Stein spotted them, and walked towards them.

"Well, well. Young Artemis Fowl and Butler. My most pleasant surprise to see two such prominent people here. How do you do? Good? Good."

Von Stein had a think German accent and a jolly manner, and looked it too, with his plump figure and his grey beard and hair. He seemed genuinely pleased to see them.

"Quite so indeed," Artemis replied in fluent German, and the instrument-maker did not look surprised.

"Fluent German, huh?" he responded in his native tongue, and chuckled. "I expected as much. What may I assist you in? I must say, I never usually come here; this is a first for me. There are some simply _fascinating_, if I do say so myself, items of rarity that you would be kicked hard to find elsewhere."

Artemis pretended to think for a while, and Von Stein's eyes never left his.

"The Blüthner. I must say I am quite interested in it."

"Ah. Yes, the Blüthner. A fine piece of work, perhaps my best one yet. Would you care to try it?"

"Very much so, Herr Von Stein."

"Well, come on then, let's hear," Von Stein replied, and added, "Do call me Göemer, by the way." Artemis pulled the stool out from under the piano, and a small crowd of people came to gather and watch. Von Stein looked even jollier.

"Very well, let us all hear from our young pianist. Artemis looked as though he wanted to object, but quickly forced a cold smile. He paused for a few seconds, and then began to play a rare Schubert Impromptu he had heard someone play many years ago.

"Bravo," the jolly man clapped, and smiled. "It's been a while since I'd heard that one." Artemis left the seat primly as the rest of the watching crowd primly. This trip was not what he had expected. He turned to Butler, and mouthed, "Let's leave. We will purchase it later." Butler nodded, and Artemis was about to walk out the door. He was just at the point of leaving the room when he heard Herr Von Stein cry out,

"Why, Ruby, you've come after all. What is it you're after this time?"

Artemis stopped in his tracks, but resisted the urge to turn around. Butler waited behind him and smiled.

"Shall we stay a little longer, Artemis?"

Artemis paused.

"No. Let us go." Artemis headed for the door, till he was again stopped in his tracks when Von Stein said again,

"You want the Blüthner? Why, there was a young man just a few minutes ago who seemed very interested in it. In fact, where has he gone?"

This time Artemis turned. Von Stein saw him, and his face brightened.

"There you are!" He bustled to Artemis, who stood rooted just in front of the door till someone behind said, "Do you mind?" and he moved stiffly to the side.

"You still interested in the Blüthner?"

Ruby approached them. She did not look surprised at all in seeing Artemis. On the contrary, she looked as if she had expected him there.

"Yes," Artemis replied politely. "Indeed, I am still interested."

"Well, now, we have a competition!" cried Von Stein happily. Ruby did not smile.

"I do not _have _to purchase the Blüthner," she said quietly. "There's another Steinway I am considering also."

Von Stein's smile disappeared.

"Is that so? I must say, even a Steinway cannot beat the quality of this one here." He nodded towards the gleaming piano."

Ruby turned to him coolly. "I apologise, but I must go. I am late meeting a friend."

Von Stein looked surprised.

"Mahler?"

"No," Ruby replied. "Not Mahler. Holly."

Artemis stared at her. Ruby lowered her head defiantly.

An awkward silence filled the group.

"Good day to you, Herr Von Stein," Ruby said finally, and left the hall.

Von Stein turned to Artemis.

"Yes, I am still interested. I shall contact you soon," Artemis said before he could say anything, and Artemis, too, left the hall.

Butler walked silently behind Artemis, who was racking his head to the point of where Artemis would speak aloud occasionally what came into his head.

"Should we trace her?" Butler asked his young master.

Artemis shook his head.

"All should be revealed in latter time. I am still busy with the project."

Butler nodded knowingly, and remained silent.

"_Will you help?" Holly asked hesitatingly. Ruby nodded slowly._

"_I shall find out for you who it is, and what they are searching for."_

_Holly smiled._

"_It's been a while since you were seven, hasn't it?"_

_Ruby smiled genuinely._

"_Yes. It has."

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How was that? Confusing? Coz that's o'kay, and sorry if it goes a bit far with music and all that, but I love writing about music...Please review now... 


	6. The Lost Diaries

Chapter 5! Thanks to Mayume Uchihafor her really nice review that made me write another chapter! I would have written another one anyway...but I wouldn't've done so soon, probably...anyway, this chapter is basically Ruby's side, and you will get more familiar with her in this chapter...read, then review!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Artemis, Holly or Foaly, but I do deserve the right to own Ruby, considering I am her creator...I also own St Madeleine's Seminar for Young Ladies, not that it's in this chapter, only a slight mention...  
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**Chapter 5- The Lost Diaries**

_Artemis searched and searched throughout the Haven offices, the worm filing through all the office documents, all the electronic files, still to have found nothing. There was still much more files to be searched through, but more than half had already been looked through. Artemis sighed; he would find it, no matter what it took. Anybody else would have long given up this task, but Artemis Fowl Junior never gave up on anything. Artemis remembered a few years ago, when he had asked Foaly in an offhand way whether he could have them returned to him, but was refused. Foaly had replied that it could well inspire him to become the harsh criminal he was. Artemis had protested that he still remembered everything, but Foaly still refused, saying it contained so much, so deep, that there was no reason why it wouldn't. Artemis had left it at that, and now, he was back onto the task. If they wouldn't simply give it to him, he would search for it himself, a small fraction of his soul that longed to be returned…_

_The Allemisse_

Ruby was always one to keep her word, no matter what circumstances tried to prevent her from doing so. The Allemisse, the mansion where she resided alone- but often visited by friends and family- was busy, but silent as usual.

Unlike Artemis Fowl, Ruby was not born into a family renowned for their illegal tradings and criminal deals, but the Wangs were a respected family in China- they were the officially known direct bloodline from the ancient royal family. Ruby had moved to Irish countryside where she had The Allemisse built to fit her precise needs and requirements.

The Allemisse was a traditional beauty, custom to the ancient palaces of China. Ruby made sure to have bought a good portion of the land, because she desired a garden, a conventional Chinese garden with bubbling streams splitting the grass hills, tall willows residing by the lake, large polished rocks and stones arranged specially, and a combination of gems and pebbles in the shallow tide pools, and idea Ruby had long dreamed of as a child. As a young girl, Ruby had loved fairy tales, and one of her favourite fairy tales had a fairy palace with tide pools filled with precious gems at the bottom, which were collected by excited fairy children every evening when the tide set.

Though The Allemisse had traditional looking gardens, balconies, roofs, and furniture; that did not mean that it did not possess modern technology. In every room, there were cameras monitoring the house movements, and there were a good many science and computer laboratories located in convenient parts of the mansion, at least one in every storey. Ruby loved books, and also made sure that a whole storey was dedicated to an extensive library.

That afternoon, after her meeting with Holly, Ruby decided that she was up to the mood to get started on this intriguing challenge and favour requested of her by the short, auburn-haired elf. Though a genius, Ruby could not do anything whenever she wanted to- her one and only limit. Ruby had to be inspired, to feel, to be in the mood to do something in order for her to do it. For example, an unusual one to be sure, but true nevertheless, Ruby had once failed a writing test at St Madeleine's Seminar for Young Ladies. Ruby was a master at literature and writing, but she had not been aware of the assessment, and the day it had been on, Ruby was not at all in the muse to write. And when she was not in the muse, she could not write anything, no matter how hard she tried.

There was no way of "getting the muse" as Ruby put it, but there were ways to encourage it to come. Reading or listening to inspiring things helped her almost always be in the mood to do what she wanted. Other ways included meditation or practising Kung Fu helped at times also. The point was, Ruby was in the frame of mind to commence her task.

Ruby climbed into her favourite computer lab- the one on the ninth storey- the top storey in the mansion. It was very easy to be inspired here. The outer sidewall of the lab, and also the roof was made of clear, ray deflecting glass. Ruby loved clouds, and in this sunroom, she could sit and watch the clouds for hours, being inspired.

Ruby logged onto one of the computers closest to the glass wall, and hummed thoughtfully. That afternoon had been interesting; she had to admit, at Von Steins visit. She _had _wanted the Blüthner, and she had thought that she would be the only one to have been interested. Ruby sighed. That was fine…she would be equally satisfied with the specially carved Steinway by Mahler.

Ruby looked into a side cabinet near the computer, and pulled out what looked like a series of coloured wire connections, and plugged them into a modem that connected to the computer. This was specially made for Ruby, given to her by Holly so that she had access to more free information and files from the Haven. _Funny how they trust me with this. I haven't really been the best Haven friend. I suppose that they are getting distressed, and are anxious to find out that the hacker is and what he or she is looking for._

Ruby searched through the software data and the Haven's online connections. Within minutes, Ruby found the worm, something Foaly had been trying to find without any success. The trick was to send down another one, a fraudulent one to disguise and trick the worm. It was hard and complicated, but Ruby was used to this, and was such an experienced hacker, she could pretty much find anything anywhere. _This _was something she could do whether she was in the mood or not. Ruby traced the worm backwards, where she found a location site. Ireland, Fowl Manor, level two, second last door on the right facing from the front. Artemis Fowl the second.

Ruby's mind suddenly jolted. _Artemis Fowl_. She should have guessed ages ago. Her mind had registered the brief expressions of surprise when she had so carelessly said out the name " Holly." Plus, Artemis had heard Ruby's conversation with Holly in the courtyard during the musical workshop where they had first met, she had seen him, but never assumed Artemis was knew about the Haven.

Ruby continued for the next hour, searching for anything that would give her a motive. Ruby smirked. All the days and weeks Foaly had put in trying to find out who broke into the Haven barriers Ruby had done under four hours. But then, Foaly did not have the strategies professional human hackers knew. Strategies that Ruby knew, or invented and develop herself, that no one else knew.

Ruby widened her eyes in surprise when she found out what the worm was doing without interfering it. A collection of diaries- his diaries. What were his diaries doing in the Haven? And why had he been unable to get them back?

Ruby decided to play a little game. A third player into the two. Ruby hurried to search through the other 40 Artemis Fowl had left, starting from the last files. It was there in an instant. It was the last file, labelled "havendata". Ruby grinned evilly, and retrieved it from the Haven connection into her own computer, then deleted all the copies and all the traces of anything being trifled with, so that even Foaly wouldn't know that anything had been gone into without doing a premium check. Besides, even if Foaly decided to do run through a check, Ruby would be allowed, because she had permission. To help them.

Ruby smiled. This was going to be a _very_ amusing game to play…

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Was that a good chapter? Tell me, and I'll update very soon...if I get a very encouraging review, I will update tomorrow or the day after...I think this is the best one yet cos it's a small climax on Ruby an' all...REVIEW PLEASE!


	7. Inplausible Failures

**Chapter 6- Implausible Failures**

The Manor

"So," Major Holly Short said to the black-haired girl sitting idly on the leather couch. "Have you found anything yet? Any clues that can help?"

"_Not yet," the girl replied tersely. "Don't worry, I will search again, a more efficient one. See, I was trying a new search ware I had bought, and I was testing it. I will use more reliable methods from now on. I will find something soon enough."_

She whipped her long hair back. Ruby was a good liar, and she knew it. Just a few more delays, and she'd be welcomed right into the centre of the game…

"_Don't stress, major," she said easily. "I'll work on it."_

Artemis couldn't believe it. Zero- no files relating at all. But it was there in the Haven, Artemis had been so sure of it. Foaly couldn't have deleted all his precious writings, he must have hidden them somewhere. Artemis sighed. He would start again. Perhaps someone had moved it without him realising it. Not matter what happened, Artemis would never give up searching.

St Bartelbys' School for Young Gentlemen 

"Artemis!" Mrs Luxington smiled as he entered the counsellor's office. Artemis barely nodded, but only because he was not in the mood to talk. This lady was so far the most proficient counsellor he had had yet. Not that he would admit it to her or anyone else. Today Mrs Luxington seemed unusually quiet, and Artemis found himself wondering why. About ten minutes passed, and still not a word spoken. Mrs Luxington didn't even look at him during this time- an odd thing for a school counsellor to do for an "antisocial but highly intellectual boy." Artemis was about to remark something about wasting time, when she looked at him.

"I would like you to think about the people who matter to you," she said finally. "Just think about it to yourself."

Artemis frowned, but Mrs Luxington smiled.

"That is all you need to do today. Come up with an answer, and be able to name them all in your head." Artemis contemplated for a long time. The counsellor did not say people he _admired_, like Dr Po had asked him. Artemis admired a few people, even a living one, not that he was human. But who did he like or admire enough that actually _mattered _to him?By the end of the session, he'd come up with only a few names; after all, _he _did not matter to many people. Artemis reluctantly built a list in his head. His parents, Angeline and Artemis Fowl the first; Foaly and Holly, he supposed, from the Haven. _Ruby_. No, Artemis didn't even know her. Artemis wiped her off the list, shaking his head. Why did he think that? She was one he admired, Artemis admitted, and she understood things that normal, unprodigised people would not. Artemis put her out of his head, and with his list finished, Artemis stopped thinking any further on the topic.

When school ended, Artemis walked straight towards the Music Department. A Symphony orchestra rehearsal was scheduled this afternoon, and Artemis walked in the instrument storage room to collect his violin- A Stradivarius, no doubt, which Artemis had bought and had in his possession for many years now. As the best violinist in the orchestra, Artemis was one of the two leaders in for the first violins. His partner, the second leader, was a senior called Marcel Ancorelli, whom Artemis disliked, and disapproved of his playing style. Artemis sat in his seat at the front desk. A few others were already seated, and Artemis ignored them, as usual. Then suddenly, Artemis recognised the voice of one of the girls who had walked into the hall. Ruby.

"I'm telling you, Hannah, I don't want to come," she was saying. Artemis defied the urge to turn around. Hannah was the girl who played behind him, and Artemis only knew her vaguely. Artemis turned around. Hannah was tugging Ruby up to the stage, who reluctantly took her violin case from Hannah. Ruby took the seat next to Hannah, behind Artemis.

"Why don't you want to?" Hannah asked. Ruby shrugged.

"Not good enough."

Hannah gaped at her.

"Excuse me? Not good enough? You're nearly finished with your final diploma, for heavens' sake, and you say you aren't good enough?"

Ruby raised her eyebrows, and said archly,

"Of course _I'm _good enough. I meant that nobody _here_ is good enough _me_." She smirked. Hannah looked offended.

"Well, maybe, but you don't know, do you? I mean, -" Hannah lowered her voice to a whisper so that Artemis couldn't hear. "Look at Artemis Fowl- he's a genius."

Ruby looked up at Artemis, who pretended he didn't notice her. He turned around, however, when Ruby tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yes?" he said as a way of greeting. Ruby grinned.

"Leader, are we, in the Symphony orchestra?" Artemis decided not to reply.

"Who sits next to you?" she then asked.

"Ancorelli," he said shortly. Ruby snorted.

"Oh _him_. Then this orchestra really is good for nothing, is it?" She turned to Hannah, who was staring.

"Are you saying that I am not adept enough in playing?" Artemis questioned.

"Not you. Ancorelli," Ruby answered. Then she said,

"If _you _think you are good enough, beat me," she challenged. Artemis nodded, resisting the smile that wanted to appear on his face. Hannah smiled broadly.

"This will be interesting." Artemis turned back around, as Ancorelli sat down, and Mr Wellencris- the conductor and head of the orchestra strode in the hall to his platform. The rehearsal began. Artemis didn't bother trying to listen to Ruby play- what was the point, anyway? However, Artemis was forced to listen, when Ancorelli announced that he had to leave early. Mr Wellencris looked around at the first violins. He looked surprised to see Ruby.

"Why Ruby, you have decided to join us, have you?"

"Oh, just for today," Ruby smiled at Mr Wellencris, who beamed.

"Fill in for Ancorelli, then, there's a good girl." Ruby didn't retort back as Artemis had thought she would, but slipped into the seat next to Artemis. Mr Wellencris gave a satisfied sort of grunt, and the rehearsal continued.

Ruby was good; there was no qualm about it. Her style was alien to Artemis, astonishingly, but Artemis found he liked it, unlike Ancorelli. When the rehearsal finished, Ruby said,

"Well done, I'm impressed."

Artemis looked at her.

"Well done to you too. I enjoy your style of playing."

Ruby smiled again.

"Thank you."

Artemis almost smiled back, until when Ruby suddenly leaned in to whisper a remark that made Artemis freeze in his spot.

"_So, playing with the fairies, are you? No wonder you're so good."_


	8. Silent Thoughts

Chapter 7! In which Artemis discovers a trace...and thinks...

**Disclaimer: **Colfer owns Artemis, Butler and all the other characters apart from Ruby and the characters I created...

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Chapter 7- Quiet Thoughts**

The prodigy stared intently at the monitor screen, reading all that had been so carefully and thickly encrypted by another of her own kind. She had known, of course, who he was- the Fowl name was notorious, after all, but these files had every little detail as to of all of his adventures. Ruby noted that these entries were only during a two-year period, from when Artemis would be about 12 to when he was nearly 14. Ruby felt a pang of pity for the young man and remaining intellectual. Unlike Artemis Fowl, Ruby felt things keenly. She analysed the general psychological shape of the diary, and noticed that Artemis had changed throughout those years, not necessarily better, or worse. Ruby thought that at the very last few entries, Artemis seemed almost out of the ordinary from his normal self. He was almost kind, thoughtful and charitable…

_So what had happened after those two years? Ruby was left to her own musings and reckonings to find an answer…_

Artemis Fowl the second swung restlessly in his chair. So she knew about his interactions. _How clever _he thought snidely. Artemis pondered on what he would do for a long time. By the end of his time for thinking, Artemis concluded that he had nothing to do with Ruby- there would be no interference. However, the phrase she had whispered to him after the orchestral rehearsal was most puzzling:

So, playing with the fairies, are you? No wonder you're so good.

That, Artemis had concluded, meant that she was involved with something to do with him, or that she knew about something. _The diaries? _No, Artemis wouldn't look that in till he had completely finished checking. Could it possibly a previous adventure he had had with the fairies? Who could have told her? Artemis had been so sure that he was the only human in contact with the fairies…as Holly had hinted before; Ruby was a friend to the Haven. She could know anything, everything…

He would look it up, Artemis decided. Look her up in the Haven, as there was no reference of her at all on the Internet. Artemis set himself to thinking. What was her motive for saying that phrase? Did she simply want him to know that she knew about his adventures, or was it something else? Perhaps she was playing with him. Artemis remained in his thoughts for the rest of the evening, even skipping his dinner, when Butler knocked on the door. _He would do something about it. Show her that he was not to be played and toyed around with._

Late at night, Artemis went into his study to start his research. All those years of silence away from the Haven had finally broken down. Before he began, however, Artemis checked his search; still nothing. Artemis was disappointed, but not surprised. He ran a checklist on all the files he had searched before. Something caught his eye; a file that hadn't been searched through yet, that was hidden in on the wayside. _Strange, _Artemis thought. _I checked through all of them before, where did it come from? _Out of curiosity, Artemis followed through to it, and opened it. A slide deleter program. _Well then, _Artemis thought to himself. _A human hacker, who must have deleted something still unhacked into. It must be Ruby- who else could it possibly be else wise? The Haven can't possibly be hiding another human. Surely not…_

Artemis put his research at the back of his mind. _After this is sorted out. _Artemis tried to find traces of where the file had come from, but it had left no traces at all- it was just an entire program of itself with no connections- _like an island, _he thought consciously. _Only islands always have see routes to other places. _Artemis racked his brains- it was almost definitely Ruby who placed it there- _she must be playing with all of us. _Artemis was determined to break down all her barriers to find the diaries. It must have been Ruby- so all he needed to do was reach into her labs. _I'm not the only one playing with the fairies, am I? _Artemis thought, and almost smiled. It took Artemis a good while before he managed to hack through her protections, and he understood why even Foaly wouldn't have been able to reach her pc. It was very well secured and encrypted, and Artemis was impressed with her style. It was again, different and alien from what Artemis was used to, just like her musical style, but Artemis again, found it compatible, and to his taste.

Artemis ran a quick browse and search for any fairy related files, but then stopped. It could be called anything- Ruby wasn't stupid. He reran the search for all the files. After about half an hour, the search came through as clean. Artemis frowned. He was becoming acquainted with her style of doing things, and if it really was her, then perhaps she had moved the file to an isolated computer, with no connections at all. Artemis smiled to himself. Once he had it proved, he would strike back down far more heavily…down to the very end…

_Foaly was standing in the department with a frown on his face that had been there for the last few weeks. The best he could do at the present was block all the files from all alien viewers. Foaly set himself to do just that, and just when he had finished, Holly entered the room._

" _Did she find anything yet?" Foaly asked, twisting a hoof into the ground. Holly shook her head._

"_Ruby said she was testing a new search ware, and nothing came up, so she's trying something more reliable this time."_

_Foaly frowned. Ruby had touched some of the files, Foaly had been aware of that._

"_Are you sure we can trust her? Ruby hasn't been exactly the innocent loyal little fairy friend. You know what she can do," Foaly's face darkened. "Remember the last time? What if something like that happens again? It's not so easy to cover it all up."_

"_I'm pretty sure," Holly said unconvincingly. She shuffled uneasily. "Let's just give her a chance. What harm can she come up to anyway? It's not as if anything can get any worse."_

_Foaly looked at her._

"_But you never know, can you? You never can know. Deceivers, after all, never truly change."_

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How was that? Please tell me, and if you have any suggestions as to improvement, please tell me... 

Please review!


	9. A Mishap

Chapter 8! I would have updated earlier, but school started...and I had a eulogy to write, a 30presentation assignment...and a 25 commerce assignment...on the first few days of school! crazy school -mutters- anyway, here it is!

**Claimer:** I own Ruby fully, and I even drew an anime character out of her...**

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Chapter 8- A Mishap

_The Allemisse_

_Holly Short dialled the communication code from the Haven, and waited for the connection._

_"Holly," a calm and collected voice greeted her._

_"Ruby," Holly responded back just as calmly. "I just wanted to know if you've finished running the check- you know the one?"_

_"Of course." Ruby swung slowly back and forth around in her leather chair._

_"Well?"_

_"Well," Ruby drawled, waiting for the tension to build up on the communicator. "I have it. I found it."_

_"Really? Who is it? What is it?" Holly's voice was eager, and sounded happy and relieved. Ruby felt a pang of guilt. "It's my game," she reminded herself, then replied,_

_"Visit, and I'll tell you all."_

_"Fine."_

Ruby sighed contentedly in her room, and fell back onto a soft sofa in a corner of her room. Her room was very different from that of Artemis'; instead of the traditional European antiques with the brown carvings and patterns, Ruby's furniture was black. It was carved and traditional to Asia, and was certainly unique. It was a large rectangular room with a balcony facing the gardens, a large and open bathroom with a sunken bath, and a whole room for a walk-in robe. On one side was a long black shelf full of her favourite books, which she always liked to have near her. On the other side was a small desk with a computer, which monitored all the cameras and recordings, and everything else electronic in the house, even the doorbells.

Ruby was content for many reasons, which all piled up together to her good humour. First of all, she had bought the Steinway, which had been delivered yesterday, early in the evening. Ruby delighted herself in playing it, amusing herself easily for hours. The second, which was even better than the first, was her little game she was playing between Artemis Fowl the second and the Haven; the plan, so far, was going well, and Ruby was well-satisfied. There were no relatives presently residing at the Allemisse, so Ruby had the whole place to herself to do as she wished without being found out, incidentally, or non-incidentally. Ruby suddenly felt fatigued, and quickly fell asleep on the couch; she had the ability to fall fast asleep within five minutes or less…

An image of Artemis Fowl junior appeared inside her mind, in his study, intensely working out a dilemma from one of his plans. He stared at the computer screen without moving an inch, his pale face contrasting from his extraordinarily deep blue eyes- something she noticed in particular. Such cold eyes, yet with a hint of hope yet.

Suddenly, he leaned forward, and her vision zoomed into his face, a frowning face, a thinking face. She took in the dark shadows under those blue eyes, and how tired this genius really was. She felt a subconscious spasm of pity for him, but felt it quickly subside.

_"A slide deleter," Artemis whispered to his disclosure._

_A taken file._

_A human hacker._

_A trace of genius._

_"Ruby," she heard him whisper aloud._

Ruby moaned, shaking her head infuriatingly from side to side, forcing herself awake immediately. She sat up from the couch and stared at nothing in particular, her eyes wide and rounded as she suddenly screamed in frustration.

She had made a glitch, and she was aware of that, so aware, all of a sudden. Artemis was no fool, he was a genius like herself, and it was not wise to underestimate him for an ordinary teenager because he was not, and would be able to do anything she was capable of doing. Ruby almost ran to the computer in the room, and quickly checked the big mistake- in reality, it was a tiny, insignificant, careless mistake that wouldn't matter at all usually, but when you are playing with a genius, the tiniest mistake can lead to your doom. When it comes to playing games, se thought angrily at herself, you cannot afford to make mistakes, careless mistakes such as this.

There. The slide-deleter, which was traceable. Ruby stared at it haltingly for a few minutes, deciding on her next step. Ruby quickly made a check to see if it had been opened at all. The first cover came off as untouched but any genius could make anything untraceable, so Ruby couldn't rely on that at all. She sighed heavily in despair, when she noticed a date of the last usage; the last time the file was opened- yesterday evening. It can't have been her; she hadn't touched it since she created it. That meant that someone else had discovered it, and it was most likely to be Artemis Fowl the second, Ruby had no doubt at all. She suddenly hit the table violently with her fist, than put her face in her hands and thought hard. All of a sudden, she smiled. _This was going to be an even more of a challenge,_ she thought, and laughed aloud. _Anyhow_, she thought _A challenge is definitely good every now and then for a prodigy such as I. We have an ultimate rival here, don't we?_ Ruby smirked, and set herself back to thinking mode. Should she delete the forgotten file, or should she leave it. Artemis had already realised it was there, so it wouldn't do much difference if he found it gone, apart from know that she was still playing. Ruby thought harder, and tried to hypothesise what a genius like Artemis would do in his situation; but what could he do to a completely isolated computer with not interrelated connections and network services at all? It was only possible to hack a secluded personal computer if one knew the serial number of that exact computer. Ruby nodded slowly to herself; it was time for the next step to her game…

_She walked up to the computer lab at the top storey, and strode towards the isolated computer. She opened the computer, and carved off the serial number. Now no one knew; not even the computer company she had bought it from, not even herself..._

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Was that alright? It's mainly about Ruby finding out about the mistake she had made...and her next step...what Artemis plans in the next chapter!

Please review and tell me what you think...


	10. Discreet Visits

Chapter 9! The first few paragraphs are full of random wierd vists to the security booth and stuff, but the end's alright, please read and review! I have a quiz at the end, like I am currently doing for my other fanfics!**_

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**_Chapter 9- Discreet Visits_**

_The Manor_

Artemis was well satisfied with his work, and stretched his arms, and walked out of the study. He pressed the intercom for Butler, who arrived almost instantly. 

"Butler," he greeted, and the large bodyguard made a small salute to the young master.

"We need to take a visit to the security booth, and a few hardware stores; I need to find some information that is somewhat important for my success in my current project."

Butler nodded neutrally. He found himself curious as to what Artemis was up to, but did not interrogate him, as he knew that when Artemis was ready to tell him, he would. All it took was a little more time to wait.

"Shall we leave now, then, Master Artemis?"

Artemis nodded tersely, and Butler left the room to drive out the Bentley. Artemis stood at the entrance of his room for a second, pausing, running through his plans for today once more before leaving the Manor.

"I am sorry, Mr, I'm afraid we are prohibited from telling others of our business to do with our other clients. See, it comes from the law of privacy," the man at the booth tried to explain as kindly as he could to the young man with straight black hair, and penetrating blue eyes that intimidated him a little. The large Eurasian behind the young man did not soothe him at all either.

"Allow me to talk with the manager, or the company boss, whoever else who is available," Artemis answered coldly. The man braced himself.

"I'm afraid the manager is busy. I am sorry that we cannot be of any help."

"Are he here?" Artemis demanded, and the man stepped back a little.

"Well- yes, he is, bu-" the man stammered weakly. Artemis stared dauntingly at him.

"I do not care whether he is occupied, I would like to see him presently."

"Yes- yes, whatever you wish," he stuttered nervously, and quickly left the counter of the booth, breathing a sigh of relief as he walked into the offices.

"You wished to see me?" the manager asked. He was of a medium build, and wore a Brioni suit and a pale blue tie. He seemed almost bored, as they entered his office, and certainly did not look as if he had been busy. "I do not have all the time in the world. Speak up, then. What do you want?"

Artemis did not like his tone of voice. He had hoped for a more efficient manager of some sort who cared about his business.

He leaned in on the table, and produced a false smile, that made the manager shift uneasily.

"I would like to look at some customer records of this security booth. There is a small matter I need to work on." Before the manager could speak, he continued.

"I understand that it is against the law of privacy, but this is of the most utmost of importance, and I will make you an offer in exchange for your inconvenience, of course."

The manager narrowed his eyes, and thought for a while. Artemis nearly smiled to himself. He was going to give in, he knew it. The manager considered Artemis' offer for a while, and Artemis waited patiently. Finally, he said,

"How much?"

Artemis smiled, and told him. The manager just managed to retain his expression from a face of surprise. He nodded, and beckoned them into another office, which was full of files.

"Have all the time you like," he said, and left the two of them.

Artemis' guesses were correct. It didn't take a long while to find all of Ruby's past business with this booth, even though she didn't use the name. Even so, Artemis always guessed that a name, any name had to have a meaning from somewhere; it never came out of the blue. So he began to search for related names. Like _Allemisse_. And it was there. Artemis smiled a smile of triumph, and like how they always did things, Butler did life-sized photographs of all the Allemisse files, and speedily put them back exactly where they were.

"We better visit the hardware store now," Artemis then said as they left the office back to the manager. Artemis handed him a bank cheque before they left; the manager seemed satisfied and so did Artemis.

The major hardware store in Ireland was Crisis Electricals, where nearly all wares were sold, and was where virtually all the other hardware stores got their supplies from. However, Artemis wasn't as successful. It turned out that because otherwise their database would be much too large, they only kept the very recent records of the past month. Any older were only statistics. Artemis sighed, and Butler made a suggestion.

"Why…" he paused. "Why don't we take a visit to the Allemisse itself?"

Artemis sighed.

"We could, but it is well protected, and if we do not have to, it would save more time for us both. However, it seems that we'll have to, we have no other choice."

Artemis made sure to know that Ruby was out of the house, by sending out a forged e-mail for a school musical rehearsal, and having her reply. The Allemisse was a beautiful mansion, Artemis had to admit. It was oriental, exotic in its beauty. Artemis first pulled out his hand-held computer, and hacked into the network systems to feed a loop into the camera, then scanned the area for a non-contact pc. There he found it. The ninth and top storey. Artemis quickly recognised the earth-buried machine- the one without the blue Internet cord, of course. It seems that Ruby didn't have wireless Internet, and Artemis smirked at that.

However, that smirk soon disappeared, when Artemis failed to force the computer open. It simply refused to be logged in, even with the password and login creator Artemis had at hand. Artemis looked at the computer for the serial number, so he could try hacking it in his study with better resources; No avail, the serial number seemed to be scraped off. Artemis stared blankly around the study. Since he had entered into the house, he had a funny feeling about it.

Though Artemis was a criminal genius, he generally did not break into people's houses. It was odd, and Artemis felt a pang of disguised guilt in himself. He almost felt…_shallow, _to have to use such an unoriginal, such a common method…

"Let's go," Artemis said shortly top Butler, who nodded, and the two silently slipped back outside, and drove away, back to the Manor.

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Just as the Bentley drove away down the avenue, a black limousine pulled up on the driveway of the Allemisse, and the girl at the back window, peered knowingly out of the black windows, tracing her gaze down the road where the Bentley had driven down. She smiled, in a sly sort of way, and got out of the car…_

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"_Wolf," Ruby said, twirling a strand of her shiny black hair, sitting idly in her seat facing opposite an elf major- Holly. "Diana Wolf."_

"_Who's that?" Holly asked curiously, her heart thumping as fast as it could have gotten._

"_A certain genius, of course," the girl-genius drawled. Holly shuddered, and remained silently for a while, Ruby waiting patiently, giving her as much time to absorb the detail as she desired._

_It took a while for Holly to think up what to say next. She leaned forward._

"_Tell me more," she said.

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Hmm...tell me what you think, please! I know the beginning's really bad, but Artemis had to do something...here's the Quiz for this chapter!_

**Quiz: **Ruby chose the name "Diana Wolf" as a character of her little game between Holly and Artemis. She happens to be telling partly the truth, so what does the name Diana Wolf have to do with Artemis Fowl?

Please review, so I know how I can improve...and also because it makes me happy!XD


	11. Reading Pavilion

Yey! I reached chapter 10 -cheers- this is a pretty long chapter, sort of, I think it's alright...

Congratulations to:

Tiki Rane Gobell

daydreamin' angel

Dark Wolf Goddess of the Moon

...who basically answered my quiz correctly! Diana is the roman goddess of the hunt, as opposed to Artemis, which is the greek one. Wolf is an anagram of Fowl, they are noth animals, only wolves are more vicious, as they hunt fowls! **_

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**_Chapter 10- Reading Pavilion_**

_The Manor_

_So the young Artemis Fowl had come back empty handed, with nothing at all apart from the fact that Ruby had a very unique style to doing things in her own genial way. Though, of course, Artemis had known that already. The young prodigy thought carefully, sinking into a deep state where he often reached when he was thinking and planning. Butler had knocked on the door to announce tea, but when there was no answer, he merely left quietly. Everyone in the Manor knew it wasn't wise to disturb the master of the house, especially Butler. Artemis needed time to think, and he was best to be left alone to it, whatever he was planning._

_It was a while before Artemis returned to the conscious state, and when he did, Artemis found that the sun was beginning to set. Artemis stood up and looked around in his room grimly. Well, if this was how the game went, Artemis would play along too…_

_St Madeleine's Seminar for Young Ladies_

St Madeleine's had a wonderful reputation as to the school facilities, and was even famous for their beautiful courtyards. While lessons were on, these courtyards were often empty, left alone for nature to do as it wished. It was free from any form of pollution, and was the home of many creatures that lived up in the trees, among the rose bushes, or under the ground. There were a good number of these courtyards, as it was a large school, and not even Mrs Lendell, who had taught at the school for more than forty years, knew where everything was; what didn't belong to the school, and what that surprisingly did. However, one of the students did, and that very student was right there, in one of the rarely used or seen courtyards, on the road opposite the school. It was in a midst of empty woodlands, which belonged to the school, and in the very centre of the tall clumps of trees was the hidden courtyard. Clearly, not many people knew of it, and it was quite incredible really, that Ruby happened to know of it. Well, not that incredible, really. Ruby _was_, after all, a prodigy just like Artemis Fowl the second, and always liked to know about things as much as she could.

Not only was it the least known garden, it was also the oldest out of all of them. There was a pavilion in the centre of the garden, though it was old, slowly and gradually wearing away. And that was where Ruby was; in the little pavilion, alone, all by herself.

Not that she had nothing to do. In her arms was a stack of paper- about one hundred pages, printed off from her computer the previous night. Ruby fancied reading these pieces of parchment in this little garden, so as not to be interrupted, and was consuming more knowledge into her ingenious mind by the pages…

_I was intrigued, of course. This was a world nobody knew, or if they did, they had been instantly mind-wiped. This was a world of new technology, where it left the superior earth much behind them. It was the Haven, and I was determined to escape with this knowledge without having to submit to one of Foaly's mind-wipes. This was something I wanted to remember forever. Of course, the deal with the Haven to aid me in my mission to recuperate the C Cube was to submit to a mind-wipe. A deal which I carefully considered, and agreed to. Even after the mind-wipe, I will find a way to return to them. I am keeping this diary about all of my ventures for my future generations to read and be influenced of, though I know they will be taken from me also. Thus, I must begin to work on planning to defeat the mind-wipe. When I remember, I shall regain possession of my diaries, and store them safely, because they are the only written record of my life, and are worth more then any number of solid gold. This assignment, is by far the most important out of all of mine, and I must succeed…_

Ruby took a break from reading, and stared openly at the trees in front of her. She smiled. This was something you sure didn't read everyday; It was valued, kept for the generations to come, and Ruby was fairly impressed, if not about his actions, but merely the depth of his thoughts. Only one thing, and Ruby pondered on it. Artemis Fowl had agreed to submit to a mind-wipe. _How had he overcome that, then? _She thought, frowning slightly. _They must have mind-wiped him, so how did he manage to remember?_

Ruby remembered all the previous games she had played with the Haven. She didn't play to deliberately hurt others; well at least, that was how she saw it. She saw it more like an intellectual challenge for her, and for Foaly too.

She continued to read, until an hour later, when she looked at her watch. Quarter to two. It was time to return back to school- there was an art workshop to attend- Christophe Cellitino, a well-known artist, and all of the art students were welcome to attend. Not that Ruby was an art student. She had decided to drop art as a subject years ago, in year 8- there was simply no point at all, learning the wonderful art from someone who did not even have a degree in the subject. Instead, Ruby took other subjects, and she was allowed to study more than the allowed number of subjects- she was in her senior year in college, and for her majors, she had taken Chemistry, Psychology and Maths Specialist, and, of course, English, which was mandatory. As her minors, she had chosen IT, because she was allowed to continue with her own projects, and music, which was merely for amusement.

Ruby arrived just in time to the art workshop, and she was determined not to be noticed by the art teachers. She scanned for a seat; they were all full, except the front row on the left. Reluctantly, she made her way towards the front row, where someone was seated. Artemis Fowl. Ruby took a deep breath, then smiled, as he looked up. His eyes slightly narrowed.

"Artemis," she said brightly, walking towards him. "Mind if I sit here? All the other seats are taken."

Artemis merely nodded, and Ruby took the seat beside him. She searched for a conversational starter.

"Hmm…" she said, looking around at some of the paintings on display. "A mix between conventional, and classical, huh?" she said.

Artemis grunted. Ruby tried again.

"So, you study art?"

Artemis looked at her in surprise.

"No," he answered. "I don't. Do you?"

"No," Ruby said.

Artemis seemed amused, and Ruby glared at him.

"Then, why are you here?"

"I was going to ask _you _the same," she retorted.

"I was merely interested in meeting Cellitino."

"Same here."

Ruby laughed, and Artemis smiled, to her amazement. He almost seemed normal when he smiled, he seemed almost _content_. Ruby faltered, and looked away. Artemis stopped smiling. The workshop began, and Ruby tried to refrain from laughing. _What a clichéd start, _she thought, as Cellitino welcomed the audience, by saying,

"What is art?"

Ruby looked sideways at Artemis, and found him wearing the same expression that she was certain was printed on her face too. Ruby got out a notebook.

_What debris, _she wrote, and handed it to Artemis to respond. He did, and wrote,

_I agree. I must say I have lost a good deal of respect for him. Not that I had much to begin with._

_Yeah –laughs- _she wrote back. _Keep on listening…_

_Right._

The time spent at the art workshop was deeply entertaining as pages and pages of the notebook were filled with their comments, and it seemed not very long when the workshop was over. Ruby stood up, getting ready to leave.

"That was fun," she grinned, and Artemis forced a small smile in return.

"I'd better go now, I have heaps of work to do," she said, picking up her coat, and turned away, starting to walk away.

"Ruby," Artemis called out suddenly.

Ruby turned around, and saw Artemis holding the stack of parchment, which she had so carelessly brought with her. _His diaries. How could I be so stupid? _She thought, as her eyes widened, and hurried forward to take them from him. Luckily, the words were faced down.

"Thanks," she said gratefully before he said anything, and threw him a quick smile, as she nearly snatched the paper files from him, then left, almost running out the entrance.

_Holly listened in silence as she told her story. She didn't respond at all when Ruby had finished, only continued to stare at nothing, pondering over the story._

"_I will deal with her, if you like," she offered. Holly shook her head._

"_Nah, it's okay," she said. "Foaly should be able to fix it up from here. Thanks, Ruby."_

"_I think that I'll have to fix it up for you," Ruby said quietly, and Holly looked at her, raising her eyebrows._

"_Pray tell why?" she said. Ruby sighed._

"_Obviously, Foaly will have to reach the earth networkings to stop Wolf. Once he does that, Wolf is capable of doing more damage to the Haven. It is better if Foaly packs away all of his networks from here, and let me deal with it."_

_Holly looked unconvinced, but Ruby assured her._

"_Trust me, I can deal with it. Just tell Foaly what I said. Otherwise, it'll just get worse. Wolf is no ordinary mudman."_

_Holly nodded tiredly._

"_Alright, then. I'll tell him. No network connections up reaching the Surface. Got it."_

_Ruby smiled, then reached up to hug Holly._

"_I promise I'll get her," she said. "You really are one of my only true friends, you know that? No matter what I've done, you've always been there."_

* * *

How was that? I think it is one of my longer chapters out of the ten, but yeah...

**Quiz: **How did Ruby know for sure that Artemis had actually got a mind-wipe?

I won't do a multiple choice for that one, as it'll be pretty obvious which one is right if I did that, so yeah! Please review, I'll really appreciate it, and tell me the answer for the quiz!


	12. A Friendship Built on Lies

You are all screaming, I know it- I haven't updated for months...but- my internet crashed and there was no way to upload- I tell you, I was soul starving to the point of death...I felt really miserable, and wrote this chapter ages ago, but just couldn't upload -curses IT teachers who have blocked every useful site at school- anyway...Chapter 11, after centuries of waiting to upload!

Note: This chapter is meant to be a long one? Correct me if I am wrong.

Oh yes...well done to:

**day****dreamin' angel**

**Tiki Rane Gobell**

**Fredryck**

**PinkAngel30**

who got my quiz correct...actually, that would be just about all of you. Ruby knows because she found his diaries in Foaly's Haven network, and they would only be there if Foaly wanted to prevent Artemis from remembering his mindwipe.

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**Chapter 11- A Friendship Built on Lies**

_Foaly shuffled his left hoof thoughtfully while Holly sat quietly on a chair, contemplating as well. The centaur racked his brains hard. It was rare when he gave in or lost to something, as a genius and paranoid centaur, who was also arrogant. This one wasn't going to simply get him by. He finally came to a conclusion._

"_You know, Holly," he said slowly, looking over at the auburn-haired major, who, despite all, still looked rather glum. "There are only two reasons, when you think about it, but we can't be taking too many risks. Ruby could either be lying and trying to rig us, or she could be telling the truth, and in that case, we definitely can't risk reaching connections to the surface. If only we knew which one really is it." Foaly scratched his head. Holly looked at him plainly._

"_I think we should trust Ruby. She is, after all, our friend, hasn't she helped us more than she's stirred up trouble?"_

"_I suppose so," Foaly admitted reluctantly, "But when she plays with us, it's always the big one."_

"_I think we should trust her," Holly insisted again, and Foaly gave in to her._

"_Fine, if that's what your instincts tell you, I guess, but you know, Holly- you do tend to trust people very easily. It doesn't come to any good, I can assure you."_

"_She's still our friend, and friends should trust each other," Holly said firmly. Foaly sighed._

"_Watch who you're saying's a friend," he muttered under his breath. "It's a friendship built on lies, let me tell you that."_

_The Manor_

Artemis had never been good with interacting with people, and never could understand the way normal people thought. It was an alien subject to him, one of the only subjects he'd neglected, though, that was because, of course, he simply had no interest in such things. Artemis found it very curious, however, that he would ever breach such a topic. Artemis strolled around the Manor till he reached the library. The library was crammed full of non-fiction books and texts some of, well, nearly all of, were very valuable. Artemis looked in the psychology section, and began to read.

Of course, Artemis had read the books before, and had processed all the information into his head- that was how Artemis managed to get through Social Skills and Behavioural Studies; Artemis only passed the subject because he knew the perfect answer to all of the subject, which the teachers would expect, even though he did not act upon them. This time, however, Artemis was breaching the topic to really understand, to be able to feel the way that the normal people felt. He thought he felt some of that at the art workshop when he was with Ruby.

Another thing that roused his curiosity was the expression Ruby had when she had seen him with those papers. Artemis wanted to study expressions a little more in depth. _It was almost as if she was shocked and worried. What could have been on the papers? She almost snatched them away when she saw I was holding them. The papers must have been of some importance to her, _Artemis mused.

Artemis became deeply immersed into one of the books, and had forgotten about time, until he was interrupted some time around two by Butler.

"Butler," he said, looking up from the book he was reading.

"Master Artemis. It's time for tea. Your mother wants you."

"I shall arrive presently," Artemis replied, and, snapped the book shut, placing back onto the shelf.

"Artemis, dear!" Angeline Fowl cried as Artemis entered the dining hall. She stood up and walked forwards to embrace her son.

"Mother," Artemis responded in an estranged voice. Angeline released him, and gestured to a chair opposite her.

"Where's Father?" Artemis asked. Angeline rolled her eyes dramatically.

"You know him, off somewhere to meet up with some of his colleagues. He should be back soon; but for now, it's just the two of us." Angeline smiled cosily at him. Artemis forced a smile. Angeline unwrapped one of the chocolates on the table.

"You missed luncheon, would you like me to call up Butler to cook something up for you?"

"Oh no, mother, I'm fine," Artemis said, and grudgingly picked out a few macadamian nuts from his bowl of them, mixed with pine nuts, which Artemis detested, for some reason.

"We couldn't find you anywhere all morning, dear. Where did you go?"

Artemis looked at her blankly.

"I didn't go anywhere, mother. I was in the library, looking up some references for a research assignment."

Angeline looked relieved.

"I was worried that you had gone out somewhere. All that searching for nothing." Angeline sighed.

"Was there anything important?" Artemis asked, looking at his mother enquiringly.

"Oh yes," his mother said, nodding. "One of your friends visited. I'm so glad, Arty, it makes me feel so happy to see that you are interacting with your fellow schoolmates well."

Artemis stared at his mother. He pondered for something to say. _Who could have come by to look for him?_

"Ah yes, mother. Which friend was it?" Angeline frowned for a minute.

"Well, it was a young girl, so I suppose it can't be a school mate. Her name was…" Angeline looked thoughtfully down at the table, and then her face brightened. "Ruby, that's it! Her name was Ruby. She had beautiful long black hair, stunning. She said she wanted to visit you; she had something to tell you."

It was Artemis' turn to frown. _Ruby? What could she have wanted? _Artemis had to confess, he was very curious.

"Who exactly is she?" Angeline persisted. Artemis shook himself away from his thoughts.

"Oh, just a friend- from St Madeleine's, you know, mother- the girl's school."

"Why that's just wonderful!" Angeline exclaimed delightedly, and Artemis quickly tried to change the topic.

"Yes, of course, mother. Did you know, father didn't really go out to meet his colleagues? He was going to go out to look for a birthday present for you."

"Really?" Angeline looked surprised and pleased, but was not sidetracked from the precious topic.

"We really must invite Ruby over for dinner- her family too, shouldn't we, Arty," she continued. "I felt simply awful as I watched her go- she said she was in a hurry anyway, so she left."

"Oh, well, Ruby is a rather busy person," Artemis said quickly. "Actually, I still have some work left to finish. I better go back upstairs to finish it."

"Oh, well, alright, then." Angeline looked rather disappointed.

It was as soon as Artemis could get away, and he felt an odd uplifting feeling wave over him as he entered his room. He sat down on a couch, and set himself thinking, though not intellectually. Ruby had come to call. Well, tried to, though Artemis didn't seem to be available. Artemis frowned. What could she have come for? Was it anything to do with the Haven? Artemis reached for his laptop to look up her phone number, then keyed in the numbers to dial. Artemis shifted uncomfortably as he waited for the sign on the laptop to change from "dialling," to "now speaking."

No avail. No one was answering. _Well, _Artemis thought uneasily, _why not? I can come to call instead. _Artemis called for Butler.

The Allemisse was the same as ever, with it's unique construction and build, and with its oriental beauty, especially the garden, Artemis cogitated.

"Shall I wait?" Butler asked, as Artemis was about to open the door. Artemis considered for a few seconds, before answering,

"Yes, but if I'm not back in half an hour, find me."

Butler nodded, and let Artemis open the door for himself, as he intended to do.

As Artemis approached the front entrance, he ignored the electronic screen by the door, and pulled on the bell instead. A young asian girl appeared, in what looked like white robes.

"What may I do for you," she asked coolly, but politely, staring at the young Irish man in front of her, dressed in an expensive Brioni suit.

"Does Miss Ruby Wang live here?" Artemis asked, though he knew the answer already, having entered it before, but nobody was meant to know that."

The girl bowed. _She must be a maid or housekeeper, _Artemis thought, surprised. Maids did not usually dress in fine white silk robes.

"Yes. Come in. I will call for her; I am Lin, the palace keeper."

Artemis restrained from snorting at the word _palace keeper_, but found he needn't have bothered. Artemis had not seen the entrance before, and found it strangely entrancing. _It is like a palace after all, _he thought interestedly.

"Does Miss Wang consider it a palace?" he asked Lin, who stared at him like he didn't know anything; Artemis felt oddly annoyed.

"But of course!" she exclaimed. "Can't you see? Mistress Ruby designed it personally, and it _is_ a palace."

Artemis nodded mutely.

"I just thought it was rather strange. There is no royalty here, after all."

Lin merely shook her head hopelessly at him as if he were totally ignorant of the ways. Suddenly, she rang a silver bell on a little arched side table, and almost instantly, another young maid appeared, wearing the exact same robes, only with shorter sleeves, that did not drag as long as Lin's.

"Tell Mistress Ruby we have a guest, Jessica."

The maid, Jessica, looked curiously at Artemis, but didn't say anything, merely bowing, and then disappeared off down the corridors. Lin turned to Artemis.

"Mistress Ruby should be down shortly. Tea?"

Artemis consented, and she poured some tea into a china cup, and handed it to Artemis, then poured another, and set it down on the side table, which Artemis presumed, was for Ruby. _It's as if she is a princess _Artemis thought, as he drunk from the cup. Artemis swallowed in surprise, though he had been expecting that it would be a foreign tea. It certainly wouldn't be his usual Earl Grey, but as knowledgeable in oriental teas as he was, Artemis couldn't identify it at all. He frowned at it.

"It's Pu Er tea," a voice behind him said softly.

Artemis turned around, and there stood Ruby, who was in traditional dress as well. It was a soft blue with sea-blue embroidery, with silk buttons. The dress went down to cover her feet. Artemis raised an eyebrow in question.

"Pu Er tea is a relatively rare tea that comes from Yuin Nan, up in the mountains. It has a unique taste, as you would have noticed, and is a powerful healing tea as well."

"Healing tea," Artemis repeated, processing the information into his head. Ruby nodded, and sat down opposite him, drinking from her own cup.

There was silence for a few minutes, as both sat mutely, drinking their tea, until finally, Artemis said,

"You came to call at the Manor today, I heard."

Ruby nodded, her black hair shining, as she took another sip of tea.

"Yeah, I did," she said casually, without looking at him. Artemis felt slightly foolish, responded,

"I came here to not bother you coming again. What was it that you wanted me for?"

Ruby looked thoughtful, as if she were pondering, then bluntly said,

"Major Holly Short."

Artemis blinked. He, of course, knew that Ruby knew that he knew about the Haven, and vice versa, but it was merely a mutual understanding, and all of a sudden, Ruby had turned the mutual understanding to verbal. Artemis looked at her warily, and she continued.

"She told me all about you."

Artemis nodded circumspectly. _After all, didn't Holly tell him all about her?_

"I must admit that I was slightly surprised that there was another human friend to the Haven." Ruby raised her eyebrows pointedly when Artemis said "friend", but did not remark upon it. Instead, she said loftily,

"On the contrary, I wasn't the least bit surprised. We aren't the only genius' here, you know; there are bound to be some things that we don't know about. For instance, did you know that another human is also in contact with the Haven?"

Artemis remained silent, quietly thinking. _Another human? That is very extraordinary indeed, if it is true, that is. Could it possibly be? Let us assume it is for now._

"And what is this human's name, may I ask?" Artemis said frostily. Ruby shook her head, smiling.

"Not telling you yet, and don't go asking Holly or anyone else either, or I will find out and hunt you down."

Artemis smiled in his head, as he heard the familiar hunting phrase often heard from Butler. He suddenly remembered Butler, who was waiting in the Bentley. Ruby tapped her fingers round her teacup, and a dreamy look washed over her face.

"It's strange, how life works, isn't it?" she said vaguely, staring out at the window. "A bit like the swirling colours in the air, flying towards the sky. Everyone is so different, so strange, yet normal, and everyone has the potential to fly, they just need the motivation, the inspiration, the spirit and will."

Artemis looked at her strangely. Ruby was still staring hazily at him, no, through him; straight past him.

Artemis stood up.

"I had better leave now," he said stiffly. "I have busy plans for weeks ahead."

Ruby woke up from her daydream.

"Of course," she said smoothly, and stood up too, smiling. "Are you in the violin solo comps?"

Artemis winced at the abbreviation, but said,

"Yes, as usual."

"Think you will win?"

"_Do _you think you will win, you mean," Artemis corrected, and then said, "of course, as usual."

Ruby gave a sly grin, and said,

"Then prepare for the unusual, because for the first time in my life, I'm entering too."

Artemis snorted.

"I am petrified, and have lost all self confidence," he said mockingly. Ruby looked seriously at him.

"Are you busy with school work, or is it just personal plans of illegal businesses?"

Artemis nearly hesitated, but just managed to refrain from doing so.

"Personal plans, though not illegal, at least, ninety seven percent legal, at any rate."

"Why don't you just go straight? There are plenty of legal challenges, you know."

"Like what?" scoffed Artemis.

"Like…finding the cure for cancer, or learning the art of ancient Chinese literature." Ruby said easily. "Geniality shouldn't be wasted down to the blackest of colours, and I'm not saying it's black, she added.

Artemis stared, but then muttered a farewell, and made his way out of the Allemisse back into his Bentley. Ruby watched through the curtains as he drove off, his great mind messed up with Ruby's odd views in her personal philosophies.

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I know what you are all most likely thinking now- Artemis seems so out of himself- but he will be back with he genial plans XD.

**Quiz:** Where is Yuin Nan, the place where Pu Er tea originated from?

Will not make this multiple choice -firmly- but obvious clue: It is from somewhere in asia. Actually, I couldn't think of any, so I had to ask my parents for a name of an oriental tea that was rarely heard of, not that it's that rare. Will update soon whenever I can, and please review **Pip...**or I will hunt you down...

Please review or answer my quiz now! Sorry that I didn't upload for so long again, I felt terrible...


	13. Endgames

Update time! I feel so glad...this chapter is a bit of a passing chapter- more about Ruby and Artemis' plans, and their thoughts and their work. Answer from last quiz:

Pu Er tea originates from Yuin Nan, which is in the mountains of northern China.

Congratulations to **daydreamin' angel**, who answered it correctly!

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_**Chapter 12- End Games**_

_The Manor_

Artemis found himself wondering about his visit to the Allemisse. Could it possibly be someone else who had taken his diaries out of the Haven network? It was four seconds when Artemis decided, it most probably wasn't. There was more chance that the hacker was Ruby, but still, Artemis thought to look up on it sometime when he wasn't busy. But then, his diaries were important, very important, and it was practically disastrous if anyone was reading them, or had gained possession of a copy of them, and no doubt someone had them. Artemis pondered on what he should do.

Artemis settled himself on an oriental rug at the centre of his sitting room, and began to meditate, occasionally muttering a few words aloud. His mother had come up to check on him, but received no reply, so assumed that he had gone out. Butler had knocked on his door for tea, but was faced with silence, and knew better than to disturb the young master.

It was pitch black when Artemis finally woke from his muse, and left the rug, standing up; flexing his body from the sitting position he had been in for the last many hours. He was tired, as always when he planned things for such a period, but he was satisfied. It wasn't too far off from his original plan, but he had to add a few more details considering the new information he had collected the last few days, and now Artemis was ready. He was careful not to underestimate a genius like Ruby- in fact, he had been especially careful since the Opal Deception, where the pixie genius Opal Koboi had planned her earth invasion in a coma for a whole year. She had underestimated the power of other geniuses, and also was too clever for her own good; Artemis had to be careful of that.

However, there was no way he was going to lose. Artemis had imagined all the possibilities of his current situation, and had considered a good many of them, only to return back to his original plan. Though it was slow, it was the one with the most chance of success, and that was what Artemis wanted.

_However, young Master Fowl was not the only one with perfect plans…_

_The Allemisse_

Ruby sat idly in the "throne." The _Throne _was a special feature in the Allemisse. The purpose of the Allemisse was to imitate almost exactly one of the palaces in ancient China, only with slight differences for Ruby's own convenience. Hence, there was an "Emperor's Court," where the Emperor would stay make decisions for the country, as was his duty. Ruby had a large court, and like the Emperor's; there was a very tall hand-carved stone throne, made especially for her. Ruby particularly liked to sit here when she wanted to be alone, and couldn't go outside because of bad weather.

Unlike Artemis Fowl what Artemis Fowl would do, the throne was not actually used by a real emperor; Ruby had one custom-produced for herself. Ruby usually followed the law, with exception of her hacking ventures. She imagined with a smile that Artemis would probably find some illegal way to gain possession of an actual royal antique. Ruby was not so rash.

She could see why, however, that Foaly would refuse to return Artemis' diaries to him. Though Artemis' communication skills were still suffering to an extent, Artemis was not so much of a criminal as he used to be as a young boy. Though still not going perfectly down the straight and narrow path, Artemis had improved up to a certain level. It would be almost a shame for Artemis to return back to his former criminal self.

_But then, _Ruby couldn't help thinking, _Artemis wouldn't change back so easily either. It must have been a slow process for Artemis to even change a little, and now that he has changed that little bit, it wouldn't take just a little while for him to transform back._

Not that Artemis was malevolent; in fact, he was a criminal, and only a criminal- the only thing Artemis was after was, after all, wealth. He wasn't a cold-blooded murderer or anything like that, he was only a thief, or a _criminal mastermind _as Artemis would put it. Ruby smirked. She had planted the seeds already, into both Holly and Artemis. Now all she had to do, was wait, wait hidden in line.

There was just one thing Ruby wanted to know- how Artemis had escaped the mind wipe. Ruby decided she would ask Holly, perhaps, some time when they talked again. Intellectually, Ruby admired Artemis, but socially, though Ruby was pretty much the only person his age that could communicate with him without being insulted, Ruby did not admire hm in that aspect. Most probably because she was a genius, like himself.

_And once Artemis makes contact online, _she thought, _that's when we can send him a little mail…_

_St Bartleby's School for Young Gentlemen_

"I have an appointment now, sir," Artemis said stiffly to Mr Woodly, the mathematics teacher. Mr Woodly nodded, and Artemis heard a few nervous giggles from his class peers. Artemis stared at them, narrowing his piercing blue eyes, and the giggles subsided uncomfortably. No one was truly at ease with Artemis Fowl the second, not even his own mother. Artemis left the classroom, and headed towards the counsellor's office for his weekly appointments as insisted by Mrs Fowl. When Artemis entered the office, he found it empty. He took a seat, and waited, and the deputy principal entered just as he sat down.

Mrs McArthur was a nice smiling lady who usually wasn't afraid of anyone, with the exception of the senior in front of her.

"Artemis," she said, with an attempt to sound calm, but failed. Artemis looked at her.

"McArthur," he responded, and the deputy didn't reprimand Artemis for his lack of respect.

"I see you are waiting for Mrs Luxington, am I correct?" she said, trying a weak smile.

"Quite obviously," Artemis answered with a hint of contempt.

"I'm afraid she has urgently left the office to see her son, who has been rushed to hospital. I apologise for any inconvenience," Mrs McArthur said nervously.

"Apologising doesn't make the inconvenience into a convenience," Artemis replied coldly. Mrs McArthur looked at him nervously, and stuttered something which Artemis didn't care to hear. The deputy looked down at the floor, quickly thinking of something else to say, anything to strike up a conversation with this intellectually gifted young man.

"I- it's strange how life works, isn't it?" She suddenly blurted out of the blue. Artemis looked up, recalling the phrase somewhere else recently.

"Yes," he said uncertainly, looking her in the eye. "A bit like the swirling colours in the air, flying towards the sky. Everyone is so different, so strange, yet normal, and everyone has the potential to fly, they just need the motivation, the inspiration, the spirit and will."

Artemis looked amazed at himself. He couldn't believe what he had just said. _Do not get too philosophical, _he thought.

Mrs McArthur looked amazed also, as she said,

"Why, you're right! How creatively you put it!" then she left for her office back again, a small smile forming as the corners of her lips curved. Artemis froze. What had made him say that? Artemis really didn't know. He walked out of the office, only to be nervously confronted by one of the boys in his maths class who had sniggered at him; he was a new boy, who probably didn't know what Artemis was like, and the other boys probably had thought it a laugh to have him confront the Fowl genius.

"I- I wanted to say I was sorry, mate," he said uneasily. Artemis didn't even blink.

"I see," he said tersely. "There is nothing to be sorry about, so you needn't really go about apologising."

"Er- right," the boy answered, slightly reddening with embarrassment, as he backed away. Artemis walked past him, heading for his locker.

_St Madeleine's Seminar for Young Ladies_

"Ruby, try to concentrate, your national eisteddfods will be up just like that before you know it," Mr Wellencris barked.

"Yes, sir," Ruby said, and attempted to play the sonata with more energy. Mr Wellencris was still frowning.

"I'm sorry," Ruby said apologetically, "I'm running a little low on my musical muse- it's dying," she tried to explain. The music teacher looked at her strangely.

"Very well then," he said reluctantly as he let her go, "But I do expect you to win that memorial prize, keep that in mind, will you? Have to give that musical genius Fowl a new challenge, eh?" he chuckled, and Ruby smiled widely.

"Don't worry, Mr Wellencris," she said, "I won't let you down."

Ruby usually was always busy, and if she wasn't, she'd find something that would make her busy. As a violinist, Ruby was currently busy preparing for her national eisteddfods competition; in which, of course, she was determined to win first prize and beat Artemis Fowl, who had cleaned out the open solos for the last seven years; at ten years old, when he first started to enter into the eisteddfods. Ruby herself never bothered with entering into competitions- her main reason being that she played for enjoyment, and selfishly, only for herself. Recently, Ruby had decided that that it wouldn't do any bad for her to share her enjoyments to everyone else who cared to listen.

Eisteddfods, however, was not the only thing Ruby was busy with. Ruby was socially very active, unlike Artemis Fowl, though when she wanted time to herself, Ruby always made sure she got it. Ruby was one of those people who know what they want, and seek out to get it, even though it may have taken them a while for them to decide on what it was they actually wanted. Then, there was, of course, the amusing challenge. It was time, after all, for Ruby to seek and measure out her full potential.

Since the last incident at the art workshop, Ruby now made sure to keep Artemis' diaries in a very safe place, now rarely letting them out of the Allemisse. She read passages from these pages very often, occasionally wondering and imagining the life the young genius had led, young as he had been when he had started his criminal career.

_Artemis never stopped believing, Ruby_ often thought in sheer wonder. For someone like him, it would be more probable that he would be a doubter- someone who didn't believe in things until he saw them with his own eyes. _He believed in so many things that only a child would believe; things that people his own age would laugh and mock at him for believing. _Yet he had not been fully trusting- yes, he only completely ever trusted himself. _Not trusting, but a believer yet_. Ruby was sure she had got him, or would get him, right in the net, where she wanted him to be.

_Exactly where she wanted him to be. Unless the unexpected arrives…_

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_Was that alright? please review, and if you want to know when I will update next, please see my agenda on my profile, which I will update every time I update a story! Please review!_

**Quiz: **Where did Artemis recall the phrase Mrs McArthur had said, "It's strange how life works, isn't it?" and from who did he repeat his answer from?


	14. Winning Post

Chapter 13! Excellent, this chapter is called winning post not only because of the eisteddfods, but also because Artemis made contact, so a certain someone returned his some post...-hint hint, nudge, nudge- XD read on!

The phrase, "It's strange how life works, isn't it," was spoken by Ruby when Artemis visited the Allemisse the day before, and Artemis had repeated what Ruby had mused philosophically afterwards…XD

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**Chapter 13- Winning Post **

"You know, Holly," the centaur said thoughtfully as he stared at the computer screen before him,

"_Ruby could really be fooling around with us. You never know, she could be playing us like a violin in the Carnegie Hall."_

"_I know, but what other choice do we have?" snapped Holly impatiently._

_Foaly shook his head as he thought._

"_None, really," he said finally, "Unless if we send a microbat up to the surface in the form of a visual through the network lines, where we can really perceive the basis of the-"_

_Holly looked at him half exasperatingly, half admiringly._

"_I don't know what you're going on about at all," she said firmly, as Foaly was about to continue on. "What is a microbat, anyway?"_

_Foaly smiled arrogantly._

"_It's my latest invention, of course, which I designed specifically for this nearly unpredictable case. Ruby had better watch out, and or whoever else is involved."_

_Holly stared incredulously at Foaly as he gave a satisfied humph, then continued to type busily onto the computer._

Rossertelli Performance Halls 

There were many excited and nervous girls and boys seated on the row of chairs marked, "competitor." Each of them giggled and whispered nervously, occasionally leafing through their music, and occasionally throwing a glance at the pale-faced young competitor sitting at the very end of the row, where he had sat for the last seven years, where he had won all of the rounds for the last seven years, and those who were competing for first prize should never have bothered to enter, because Artemis was always sure to win, no matter which adjudicator was judging.

No one noticed, at first, when a young woman in a short white dress slipped into the hall, next to the musical genius, holding an violin that looked as if it was halfway through the process of biodegrading, and a brand new and shiny bow that was strangely curved, in an elegant way. Artemis pretended not to notice, and it had worked, because Ruby likewise ignored him. Instead, she glanced about in a carefree way, smiling at her fellow competitors down the row.

The convenor made her welcome speech, in which Artemis gazed dully about the hall, but Ruby sat up straight, listening with utmost attention. Competitor no. 1 was Artemis Fowl, and Ruby watched attentively as she listened to him play a sonata movement she had never heard before. Ruby had to admit, it was a very nice piece, and Artemis certainly conveyed all the expression quite clearly. The old competitors looked bored, Ruby noticed. _Probably because they are used to Artemis playing so well, then winning. _It was easy to pick out the new competitors, because they were the ones staring open-mouthed at the violinist. _Well, _Ruby thought grimly, _Artemis will have competition this time. _She was almost looking forward to beating the musical prodigy.

Artemis walked off the stage condescendingly, his face neutral, but seemed half angry, his piercing blue eyes staring, his mouth drawn in a thin line. Ruby smiled at him, but Artemis ignored her as he sat back down beside her. Ruby thought she heard whispers from the other competitors; something like, "won clean," and "seven years in a row."

Placing Artemis Fowl first was a bad idea, because it put many others out of their confidence. Artemis smirked as he listened to the others, but Ruby merely watched silently, not making a single remark. Some of the competitors had talent, Ruby had thought, and deserved a prize, if it weren't for Artemis, who was, after all, a genius. Ruby happened to be the tenth and last competitor, and everyone seemed to be curious as to who the pretty young violinist was, and were interested to listen to her play soon.

Ruby played a piece by John Allerton, a contemporary composer who composed very exotic but beautiful music, which she loved. Everyone, including the adjudicator, who dropped her pen, watched, no, stared at her continuously will she had finished her piece. Ruby had a very relaxed and light style, which was full of expression, a combination so intense that no one had ever heard anything like it, though they had heard the piece at least several times. She played freely, with joy, and a smile played about her lips as she enjoyed herself. She seemed completely lost into her music, as it was a separate world, but at the same time, she seemed aware of the audience. Everyone could tell that at least, and they could see visually, the connection between her and the music she was playing.

When she finished at a pianissimo for the high E, Ruby bowed, then left the stage, returning back to the seat. The adjudicator found her pen again, and began writing furiously. Everyone watching seemed to waken from an enchantment, as they were spellbound beforehand. Even Artemis Fowl was intrigued and absorbed into her playing, though he had known.

Naturally, she won, and Artemis received second prize. Artemis accepted his medal wordlessly from the adjudicator, then headed straight out the exit door of the hall. Ruby couldn't help beaming, but stopped smiling as Artemis left. With a word of thanks and a fast apology, she headed out the door to look for Artemis. She arrived just in time to see him enter into a large Bentley, before it drove off.

Mr Wellencris was ecstatic when he had heard the news. Ruby had won. _Won and had beaten Artemis. _

"Well done, Ruby. Excellent work," he said heartily, slapping Ruby on the shoulder. Ruby smiled.

"I told you I would win, Mr Wellencris. That's because I revived my muse."

Mr Wellencris shook his head infuriatingly.

"I don't understand," he said. "How you've become so philosophical." Ruby grinned.

"I was always like that, sir," she answered. She shrugged. "Maybe I was a little eccentric when I was little, everyone always thought I was a little strange. But everyone is strange in their own unique way, really, if you think about it."

Mr Wellencris thought.

"Right," he said finally, "I understand," in an unconvincing tone, and Ruby smiled.

"Of course you understand, Mr Wellencris," she said sarcastically, and Mr Wellencris laughed.

_Ruby stared delightedly at her computer that night. The time had come, for the game to really begin…_

_The Manor_

Artemis felt beaten, and beaten he was. Undeniably, Ruby was very good, and it was common knowledge that she was very skilled. He had not heard her play the piano yet, but Artemis was certain that she was just as good. _There is nothing I can do about that, _he thought. _We merely have differing styles, which none can compare._

Reluctantly, Artemis opened his laptop, and began checking his lines, which he had sent down to various networks. As he opened and logged in, a sudden notice flashed on the screen. _A new message, _Artemis thought curiously. _Nothing like that usually happened. _Artemis opened the file and stared blankly as he read speedily down the pages.

It was a portion of his diary. Artemis frowned, thinking. That meant that the hacker was playing with him, but what the hacker wanted, Artemis didn't know. So that persons, whoever it was, had his diaries. _Let us presume, that is Ruby, _he thought, but then frowned again as he zoomed in on the files. No, it was more likely that it wasn't her. The files were scanned, which meant that a hard copy of his diaries was in the hands of the hacker. _There must be at least a hundred pages printed, _he thought, then recalled something.

_It could be Ruby, after all…Artemis smiled. Now he knew exactly how the game was playing, and Artemis was confident that he could beat it, at least the one opposition, or was there more? But if there was more than one, who could possibly be the other? No, Artemis shook his head. It was most likely there was only one._

Ruby caught up with him at the next eisteddfods- it was the piano sections that week, and Ruby had entered into those as well.

"I hope you're feeling all right and that you've gotten over the fact that I am a better violinist than you," she said grinning, as Artemis turned around in alarm.

"Just because you received first prize, does not necessarily mean that you outrun me in playing," he said stiffly back. Ruby smiled.

"True," she agreed, and then said, "I liked what you played- what was it? I don't think I actually know it."

Artemis had to stop himself smiling arrogantly.

"I'd be very astonished if you said you did," he said. Then- "I wrote it, it is the third movement to my sonata in C minor Opus 21 no. 3, under the pseudonym of Marcus Wilton."

"Very good," Ruby said, impressed, and Artemis gave a small smile, which Ruby encouraged.

"It's good to smile once in a while," she said, "Or even better, as often as you can."

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"_That was Ruby, Timmy, Arty's friend," Angeline Fowl whispered to her husband. Artemis Fowl senior frowned. _

"_They didn't look as if they knew each other last week."_

"_Of course they know each other. Ruby visited the Manor once, remember? And Arty wasn't there, well, he was, but no one could find him, so she left. We must invite her and her family over someday, don't you think?"_

_Mr Fowl nodded encouragingly at his wife._

"_A very gifted violinist, huh?" he muttered, chuckling. "So good even as to beat our Arty."_

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Hehe, please review and tell me what you think about it...the quiz!

**Quiz: **Which composer wrote a Sonata in C minor along with a Fantasia prelude to it?

Beethoven

Schubert

Hayden

Mozart

Other

Hehe…I actually played it- it's a beautiful sonata with many moods…L.O.L. i enjoyed playing it, and i still do, sometimes, but now, my current piano piece obssession is "passepied" by Debussy...they say i have no life, maybe I don't, considering on the day I got it, i played it for four hours straight...now now, don't think of the word, insanity...XD, will attsmpt to update soon!XD- see my agenda- i actually changed it! I forogt last time, I'm sorry...lol.


	15. Merging Forces

This is a fairly, well, I can't really describe it, but the story is coming to another climax, especially at the end of the chapter. Read on!

The answer for the last quiz was d) Mozart. To be more precise, it is Mozart's Sonata No. 14, well Fantasia and Sonata in C minor. Anyway! It's a good piece which you might want to learn if you play the piano...lol.

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_**Chapter 14- Merging Forces**_

_The Manor_

It took a long time for Artemis to build his wiping software- nearly all of his hacking and computer technological abilities had been in use. In fact, it was three days before Artemis actually left his room. Now however, he was more than satisfied. With the wiping technology, Artemis was able to automatically delete any soft copies of anything he wanted, his diaries, for instance. Only problem was, he was certain that the hacker had a hard copy of his diaries too, and none could ever be sure how many copies existed. In fact, it took Artemis Fowl junior a minute to actually realize how dangerous this was, though then relaxed. The diaries that he or she had were all the fairy-related ones. Not even a fool would believe in them, let alone anyone else. Artemis still wasn't worried, though; he had spent days planning, he had assessed all situations that were possible and were realistic. Artemis was ready for what would happen and he would make sure that all copies of his valued diaries were destroyed apart from his own.

_Artemis slipped the small magnetic disk into one of his compute... let the game to start, he thought._

_The Allemisse_

She realized what was happening, and admired him for it. Ruby wasn't sure if even she had the will and patience to construct such a thing, and like she knew, and Artemis knew, she did still have the hard copy of his diaries, which she had scanned onto the computer. Actually, the hard copy was currently her only copy- she had no copy on the net or on her computer, for security reasons, which was really why she took the time to scan the chapters one by one and send them. Now, however, she realized with dismay, Artemis would know when she sent another diary file, plus know where it came from, when it was sent, etcetera, etcetera.

Ruby thought deeply. It was no big deal, really. It was just time to use her isolated computer again with no registration whatsoever; because she had personally made sure the information was destroyed a few weeks ago, and replaced with false information.

She had decided to name her isolated computer _Islandia. Secluded, like an island with no connections. None at all._

_Of course, that was exactly what Artemis had predicted…_

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Artemis actually smiled when he received the open piano solo trophy. It was the first time in Artemis' life where it was almost a challenge for him to win this. Artemis smiled fondly at the gleaming instrument. He had beaten Ruby at piano, at least. Though Artemis probably would not admit it, the simple fact that it was a challenge to win, and the fact that he won, made Artemis value the trophy and prize more than any other he had received over the last seven years. It was something he actually worked hard at, and knew of the risk of losing to second place, even if there was only one potential rival competitor.

He found that Ruby did not seem upset at all. On the contrary, she was smiling brightly and congratulated him happily. _Whereas did he seem pleased when she had won the other day? _

_No, he wasn't. It was rather rude of me, I suppose, _he thought, then looked at himself in alarm. _How could I have said that? It's not like yourself at all, _he muttered firmly in his head. Artemis shook his head hopelessly. Ruby was messing into his mind, and Artemis found himself pleased and contented when it did get into his mind, but annoyed and irritated at himself when he realized what he was doing.

Once Artemis activated his data-wiping technology, all Artemis could do was wait, wait for the bait to be trapped, when the next was sent in. It was a trick that worked two ways; to find the hacker, or to confirm that the hacker was Ruby. If it were Ruby, the file would appear to come from nowhere- her isolated network of computers. If there was information, well, then he knew who it really was. Artemis thought it most likely to be Ruby.

It was in the evening when Artemis found a trapped file. He clicked on it, and the file opened- again, it was a pdf- scanned file- of his next diary entry. Artemis searched the trace it came with and surprisingly, there was. Artemis used a location software not unlike what Foaly had installed hi network to find out more background information. It only took seconds- Artemis peered eagerly into the screen- it even had a name: _Diana Wolf._

Artemis stared at it unblinkingly for a good few seconds, thinking. There was information about the computer that sent the file, but it was one of the terminals available in the public library. _How clever, _he thought, sneering. Now the trap was annulled both ways. Diana Wolf. Artemis saw it as a form of mockery as he instantly caught on the game of it. Diana- Roman goddess of the Hunt; Artemis- Greek goddess of the Hunt. Then there were the Fowls and the Wolves a clever but obvious anagram but also with a hidden hunting meaning within it. It was simple- Wolves hunted Fowls. Artemis looked at the name in disgust, and searched for a continuing plan. Artemis nodded slowly. Yes, that's the way he would go about it…

In the morning, Artemis made an unannounced trip to the Haven. He made sure not to be spotted, of course, as he could be easily recognized as a mudman. He made his way silently into Foaly's department, and found also, to his luck, a Major Holly Short. They looked up in surprise at the young man by the doorway, which was nearly too small for him, as he used to only just fit perfectly as a young teenager.

"Well," Holly said, trying to hide her astonishment carefully, "What brings you here?"

"Nothing, really," Artemis said, making his voice sound rather friendly. Holly's hazel eyes narrowed.

"I know how you are, Artemis. You don't need to act for me to see through that. Out with it. What do you want?"

Artemis sighed dramatically. He had known it probably wouldn't work, but he thought he may as well give it a go.

"I- I've had someone attack my network system," he said suddenly.

At that, Foaly whipped around to face him.

"What's that you say, mudboy?" he said, frowning at him. "Or mudman, I should say."

"You may just call me Artemis. That is, after all, the name my parents have given me to be called," Artemis replied stiffly. "And yes, someone has attacked my network, and I thought perhaps you'd be able to find more information about her."

"Her?" Foaly said, surprised. "Do you have a name?"

"Yes," Artemis nodded. "Diana Wolf- though I am sure it is a pseudonym. It is a mockery of my name."

Foaly and Holly glanced at each other. _Diana Wolf? The one Ruby said was attacking their own system._

"Go on," Foaly said carefully, "How is it a mockery?"

Artemis sighed, and explained the origin of that name and his own.

"So it's meant to be the one and the same, but different," Artemis finished. Foaly was frowning even harder than before. He shot Holly another look, and Holly nodded resignedly, and said to Artemis,

"Actually, we've been attacked by the same person."

Artemis looked surprised, but did not question. He didn't need to, however, because Holly said,

"But Ruby is helping us- she found the name Diana Wolf too, and she's trying to trace her. Plus, there's Foaly's microbat, which I still don't understand, because he still has to fine-tune it, and won't tell me in simple words."

"Ruby found the name also?" Artemis repeated. Holly nodded.

"I think until Foaly finishes fine-tuning his little invention, it would be best if you saw her. Perhaps you can even work together."

Artemis stared, thought whirling in his head as he processed all the crucial points that he had just heard.

Work with Ruby. Could he do that? Or was there more to it.

_Better think about it a bit more, he thought._

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Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter! And also try to answer the quiz, if you think you know the answer...lol.

This is more of an opinion question again, and I was going to make it a multiple choice, but then decided against it...

**_Quiz: _**Did Artemis Fowl really visit the haven for help, or did he go for some other reason of his own, as part of his own game?

XD till the next update- chapter 15! See my agenda in my profile for the next update!LOL


	16. Starshaped Paths

Chapter 15! Yey, maybe I should celebrate! This is sort of a passing chapter, a bit of a musey one, I guess…

The Quiz answer to Chapter 14 was yes, Artemis was visiting the Haven for his own purposes. Congratulations to:

empresspip...

Who got it correct, though it was pretty obvious…XD Read on!

**Chapter 15- Star-shaped Paths **

The genius sighed as she stepped into the sunken spa in her bedroom chamber quarters. Ruby was beginning to feel a whale of guilt consuming her. It was wrong of her to do this, to play with everyone she cared about, or whoever she might learn to care about, but this was the only way Ruby could really test her potential- a battle of the ultimate rivals. Not singular, but plural. Once this was over, she could go back straight again- she only needed to do the testing once every few years. Ruby had increased the frequency of electronic scannings sent to the Manor network; in fact, she now sent an entry every two to three days, and surveyed his steps online. She made sure that Artemis knew that someone was watching, and also made sure that that person he was to know as Diana Wolf. So many choices she could make know, that could completely and utterly change the futuristic events…

For the best part of the night, Artemis was thinking over his plans. It had never occurred to him that the Haven could be hacked into either. _There are just too many possibilities that have transformed into probabilities, _he thought wonderingly. Should he co-operate with Ruby? Artemis frowned as he even considered the plan. Artemis Fowl the second never co-worked with anyone else; he always worked alone. Would it be possible, even, for him to be able to work with someone else apart from the Haven? Working along side with the Haven was something that he couldn't help, anyway. Besides, the Haven was special, and it was under special circumstances, anyway.

Artemis was thought in depth, making slight changes into his plans. He would do some interrogating, return back for another visit to the Haven. Perhaps it was time for another of Artemis' great computer-related inventions, or perhaps If Foaly's microbat was what he was looking for, maybe he would consider using that. Foaly's inventions always intrigued Artemis- for one thing, the fairy's technology were by far more advanced than the humans, and had things which no humans had even dreamed to see, especially in this generation. _The world was coming to an end, but that didn't mean that Artemis was going to waste the rest of his lifetime. Far from it._

There were so many different paths he could take; each of would end up with a different result. Lately, Artemis found himself musing very philosophically, and this was an excellent topic for one to be musing so philosophically. The Fowls never abided by a religion- they always were more seeing than believing- of course, trust was hard to come by from most businessmen. They had little _faith, _would that be how a religious priest describe the Fowls as. Returning back to the paths…yes, Artemis had a great variety of choices- many of which would result positively, and an equal amount of which would result the precise opposite.

In fact, so many, it wasn't just a forked path, which a limited number of choices and decisions- there was much, much more. More paths he could take. _And at the end of each path, would be his fate and destiny, where they lie, even if it was only a small portion of it_. Artemis had to admit that his ventures were not exactly safe and risk-free. In fact, most of the time, they were dangerous, and Artemis found himself often in life-threatening situations.

Artemis quickly summed up the calculated risks involved in each possible scenario, but even though calculated, it was still very unpredictable, the most reliable plan with only 38 percent chance of success. But then, Artemis could think very quickly when called for, and when the situation arises, Artemis could always be counted upon to think up a genial idea for escape or success, to the very last minute. Artemis almost smiled to himself. The morning sun was rising, and Artemis, restless, got up. He crawled into his study quietly, and logged onto one of the computers to see if there were any more files received. Indeed, as he had predicted, there was- entry number 16, to be precise. He had noticed the increased frequency of entries arriving online, and wondered about it. _Who could Diana Wolf be? _he puzzled, as he had done so many times before, pondering alone at the mysterious personage. He had probable suspects, of course, but really, it could be anyone, like Ruby had said. _But when he had visited the Allemisse, he remembered that Ruby seemed to __know Diana Wolf. He recalled how she had smiled, but wouldn't speak her name. It must have been either Ruby, or the person she had talked of…_

He saved the scannings and printed them off. Then, he built an online barrier, not allowing the computer pinging him to reach his network. He looked satisfied at his work. No more disruptions, and he could continue with his plan of the game. He marvelled at how he didn't think of it before. Now all he needed was to backwards ping into the computer that had hacked him. He followed the invisible trace- it was true that there was virtually no trace at all, but, to Artemis' grim satisfaction- it was a clean trace, with nothing at all. "The hacker has a lotto learn," he sneered. Because there was no trace at all, and everything else Artemis had access to had traces, he could easily just follow through the spotlessly white path…

"So," Holly said casually, "What exactly does the microbat do?"

Foaly smiled arrogantly, and Holly rolled her eyes.

"Spare me the pride, will you? Just get on with it, and explain in simple terms, mind you, or else I would never live to understand at all."

Foaly seemed excited, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment- his favourite past-time- to explain his own inventions to others. He pointed at a little circular machine that looked as if it was made out of stone or polymer. There was a small crack at the centre of the ball-like device, which Holly thought, would open up to something fantastical; only when he did, all she saw was a thick strand of wire- silver-coloured, and probably solid silver, too.

"The Microbat," he said proudly, and went on to explain. The microbat indeed was very useful. In fact, it was not unlike the C Cube, which the young Artemis Fowl at fourteen years of age had created so many years ago. Like the C Cube, the Microbat could sense all technological devices, and hack through, rendering anything at all, also having the features of a microcomputer, but unlike the C Cube, the Microbat could also render all natural devices too, as long as it was a device. It also could trace anything, and could even ping unnetworked computers, because the Microbat could reach anything, no matter if it had online connections or not. It not only had an omni sensor to read what the C Cube was capable of, but also an iatric sensor, which sensed the rest.

Holly looked in awe at admiration, and Foaly glowed with pleasure as Holly praised him.

"Wait till the Fowl boy sees," he said happily. "I'd give anything to watch his face. A tad step up above the C Cube, huh?"

"Sure," Holly agreed. Foaly looked at the little device fondly.

"We can beat anyone with it, but before we use it, let the Fowl boy see it, eh."

"He's not really a boy anymore, is he?" Holly reminded him softly. Foaly looked almost saddened.

"No, you're right, the Mud boy has almost turned into a Mud man. I suppose we could always show the mud girl Ruby, if she's not too busy."

"Ruby's grown up too, remember?"

Foaly looked at her.

"I know that, but what else can I call her? Mud woman? That just doesn't sound right at all."

"You're right," Holly said a little tearfully. "They've grown up so quickly, haven't they? They've even matured to some extent, which is good, of course," she added.

"It's fine," Foaly said relaxingly, "We can show both of them."

Holly looked at him blankly.

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Hmm...what did you think? The action is coming in the next chapter, watch what'll happen, very interesting...do you think Artemis would lower his pride to co-work with Ruby? Personally, I don't really think so, he just isn't the type, unless something really drastic forces him to, and that would have to be extreme...L.O.L.

**Quiz: **For what reason could this chapter be called Star-shaped Paths?

Will update soon! I've done the agenda already, so you can really see the next update now! Till chapter 16!

Special thanks to Fredryck and empresspip for reading and reviewing my story, giving me very thoughtful feedback, especially Fredryck! I think lot's of people gave up on me when I didn't update for at least a month…but I really, really couldn't help that…XD

Evalia


	17. Friendship Built on Trust

**Hello!!! Chapter 16- sorry for not updating for ages- I was rewriting some of the beginning chapters- they should be uploaded soon! XD. **

**The quiz answer was correctly answered by Empresspip, who's answer was really, really detailed…whoo! Artemis had so many choices to make, and so many paths he could take.**

**This chapter really takes a big turn round…read!**

**:x:**

**_Chapter 16- Friendship Built on Trust_**

The Allemisse 

_Ruby frowned. Something was reaching her, and her pings weren't being sent properly. In fact, it was as if her plan had backfired._

"_Dar'vit," she swore, and suddenly laughed. She had been living with the knowledge of fairies in the planet for so long that she was speaking their language too. She returned back to seriousness. No doubt Artemis Fowl had found a way to block her, and send back signals. But that was impossible- there was no trace at all that anything had been sent, except for the fact that the diary entries were there on the hard drive at Fowl Manor._

_Hmm…Ruby thought hard. The problem was, she wasn't the only genius, it was probable that Artemis Fowl the Second had found a way back…only…how?_

**:x:**

Genii were brilliant, but sometimes, they couldn't even work out the simplest of things. Artemis sighed, and almost smiled, when he caught himself just in time. _This time, _he thought, smirking, _the fowl has caught the wolf. _Ruby was right in the palm of Artemis' hand, and Artemis was finally satisfied.

Satisfied Artemis was, but he still couldn't help feeling worried. If his calculations were right, and Artemis knew that they must be, then Ruby would have in her possession, his diaries- in hardcopy. The Fowl name was notorious, Artemis knew, but he intended the diaries to be read by younger Fowl generation. _What generation? _A sly voice crept into his head. _Wouldn't the young Artemis Fowl II be the last generation of the Fowls? _

He sighed. Ruby was a genius, and Artemis was glad that the situation was not as bad as it could have been. Ruby knew about the Haven's existence, that was the main reason why Artemis had hid his diaries so carefully. Until the mindwipe, that was. Then Foaly had taken ownership of the diaries, not that he read them. Which was why Artemis had wired up the whole Haven in the first place.

Artemis wondered about the motives Ruby could have had to trouble them, but in actual truth, Ruby didn't have a motive at all. It was all a game, but now, Artemis knew exactly which fork, which corner of the star he would walk down. _The…the right one? _Yes, it was the right path. The path of help. Help from others.

Artemis had never felt noble in his life. He never bothered with the right way; it was always the easiest way, the most genius plan. The most criminal and illegal path. Artemis wondered what had really changed him.

"The Haven," he said aloud. Then, "Ruby." Then, "_Mother_."

**:x:**

"Why, Arty!" Angeline hugged her son as he walked into her private lounge.

"Mother." Artemis sat down next to his mother when she released him from her embrace.

"How are you, Arty? Aren't you going to school today? Are you sick?"

"I'm fine, Mother. It's the long weekend. I thought I'd see you before I go to visit some friends."

Angeline's face lit up in a bright smile.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that, Arty!" She hugged him again. "I was beginning to think that you might not get along with your other school mates."

Artemis was about to smirk, but thought better of it.

"I get along with them fine, Mother. I told you that before many times. I should be back before dinner time, Mother."

"Well, have fun, Arty!"

Artemis stood up, and managed a smile onto his face. Angeline smiled brightly back in return.

"Arty, I know you know it, but it's friends that what really counts, you know? Friends, and anything else that makes you happy. If you find something that makes you feel happy, go after it."

Artemis thought for a second. Then,

"You're right, mother."

**:x:**

In the corner of a large office, Foaly stood in front of a large plasma screen, the top of his head covered with a silver-blue tin-foil hat that had swirly patterns on the sides. There was no sign of Holly, Artemis noticed.

"Foaly."

The centaur looked up, and his face lit up.

"Mudboy! I had something to show you! Come here."

Artemis walked towards the computer.

"A new invention?" he asked. Foaly nodded, his face beaming, then bent down to take something out of the cabinet.

Artemis took it, and examined it. It was a tiny ball that was just a little bigger than a golf ball, and fitted perfectly in the palm of his hand. Artemis instantly recognized the ball's material as a rock polymer, a very rough type of polymer, which was very expensive to by on the Surface. He frowned at the crack in the centre of the ball.

"What is it?" he asked. Foaly sighed with pleasure. He loved explaining his inventions to Artemis, and Ruby, because they could always understand what he was talking about. They asked all the right questions, and Foaly always felt a deep sense of satisfaction after showing of the features of his new toy.

"This is a microbat. A new level up from the C Cube, my boy."

Artemis was intrigued. "Tell me more," he said eagerly as he would have had he been still fourteen. Not only could the cube read anything electronic and man or Haven-made; it could read all organic and natural materials too.

"The C Cube could measure your heart rate, but this little beauty can do much more. It could even analyze a leaf or examine bacterial life from frozen pond water, etc. etc.," Foaly said impressively.

"You are right," Artemis said. "A step above from the C Cube. This iatric sensor…" Artemis fell into deep thought.

"Foaly, I have something to tell you…"

**:x:**

The most important visitation of the day: to the Allemisse. Artemis knew she would be at home, as he had already checked beforehand. Artemis took a deep breath, and pulled the bell. He frowned, noticing that the electronic screen by the door wasn't there anymore.

It was the same woman who opened the door as the last time. Lin, Artemis recalled. The _palace keeper. _For some reason Artemis didn't quite understand, the title did not sound so silly and pompous as he had thought previously.

"Mister Fowl." She stopped short, and then said, "She's expecting you."

**:x:**

Artemis walked into the lounge, where he found Ruby waiting, a relatively thin parcel wrapped in heavy-duty paper beside her on a table.

"You've been expecting me?" Artemis looked at her. Ruby nodded, and poured him a cup of tea. Artemis grimaced at the taste, and put the cup down onto the table.

"Not used to the taste?" Ruby smiled. "Drink it; it's good for you."

"What is it?" Artemis inquired.

"It's San Qi tea from Yuin Nan again. Yuin Nan is quite famous for it's tea. San Qi is a plant full of uses from its buds and leaves to its stems and root. The flower buds can be used for tea once grown and nurtured for three years. It tastes bitter, but sweet at the same time, and does good to your blood flow in your body. That's only one of many ailments it can help or heal gradually."

Artemis nodded, and reluctantly took another sip. _It's not so bad the second time, _Artemis thought, and continued to hold the cup in his hands.

There was an awkward silence, and when Artemis was about to speak, Ruby put her cup down to take the parcel beside her. She held it out to Artemis, who looked at it.

"Your dairies. " She swallowed. "I'm sorry for interfering."

Artemis slowly reached out to take the parcel, and then with trembling fingers, opened it. The last copy of his diaries. He stared. The stack of parchment looked familiar. He looked up, frowning.

"Yes. It was the stack of paper I brought with me to the art workshop."

Artemis looked stunned, as he remembered how she had left them on the chair. He had picked it up and held it…for those few seconds. Then he remembered the shock on Ruby's face when she saw him holding them. How she quickly snatched it away, and ran off…

Artemis truly believed that Ruby did not have any other copies of his diaries, and left it at that. He looked up at Ruby, who looked a little nervous.

"How did you know I was coming? Why did ping the Haven?"

"You checked to see if I was home before you came. Of course I knew you were coming. Why did I ping the Haven?" She shrugged. "It was stupid, I know, but I thought it would be fun to rival the famously notorious Artemis Fowl Junior. It was just a game."

Artemis thought about it, and then said stiffly,

"It's…alright."

Ruby smiled.

"You know, I almost never apologize to anyone, but that's because I'm never wrong. When I am, I like to apologize, make peace, and move on. I'm actually really nice most of the time."

"I know," Artemis said, "And so does the Haven."

A warm silence replaced the awkward one. Artemis stood up, picking up his precious parcel.

"I should go now. My mother is probably waiting for me at home. Make a visit to the Haven sometime. Foaly has something to show you."

"Really?" Ruby's curiosity rose. "Come back again, okay? I don't want to keep on being enemies. Well…okay, maybe rivals…but friendly ones."

Artemis smiled.

"O…okay." _My first human friend. _Artemis felt dazed.

"Hey." Ruby stood up, and handed him a piece of paper, her face splitting into a grin. "Next time, don't scan my house to see if I'm home, okay? Use the phone."

As Artemis walked out, he found that he was humming in a happy and pleasant way. He frowned, and then let that frown go. He shook his head. Sometimes, the hardest answer was really the simplest. He remembered his mother's words, and changed some of the words.

_If there's anything that makes you happy, go after it._

_If there's anyone that makes you happy, go after her._

**:x:**

**And thus, the story turns to a romance!!! Mua hahahahaha!!! Wow…I feel that the story is finally progressing!! -cheers- **

**Quiz: **_Genii were brilliant, but sometimes, they couldn't even work out the simplest of things._

**What do you think this phrase meant?**

**Please leave a review!**

**Your Writer who will update soon,**

**-Evalia**


	18. Listen For It

**Ahh…-sigh- another update!! Be prepared for an entirely different style of writing…or maybe it's just an entirely different genre…romance- whooo!!! Here it goes!! **

**Chapter 17- Listen for It**

The spring blossoms always seem to pass by unnoticed by genii. It was always the real humans, the ones who made regretful mistakes, the imperfect ones who saw them. They were the ones who sat on the grass eating homemade ice creams, and climbed the tall trees by the park from down the road. It was today, when Artemis Fowl the Second, for the first time in his life, _enjoyed _the natural beauty of the world. Usually, it was the too many hours in front of a computer monitor, or in the high altitudes of an illegal aeroplane.

It was the emotion of love, love that Artemis had never experienced before in the seventeen years of his life. He was the least experienced in that sort of matter out of everyone else his age, even perhaps out of those younger than him by a few years. Artemis recalled what his father had said.

"You've never once been a child, Artemis. From the time you were born, you were grown already, refusing to be what you really were. I was once proud of my criminal businesses, and delighted that you had decided to follow into my footsteps. But now…I fear that I am nearly too late."

For the first time out of the three years since Artemis Fowl Senior had spoken these words, Artemis decided to take them to heart. Something strange was slowly winding inside of him, untying the intricate knots that bound his relentless soul. It was reliving his childhood again, or maybe not. He couldn't relive something that had already passed. Perhaps it was that mysterious word, love. Angeline, his own mother- the one person he had every felt anything at all close to the word. It was an arcane thought, and Artemis mused upon it. No, this was a different love. Artemis was finally growing up.

**:x:**

The last day of term for the students of St Bartleby's was also Artemis' last visit with the school counsellor. Mrs Luxington had declared Artemis as "a perfectly sensible young man devoid of any issues at all," to Angeline's delight. Artemis had no intention at all to remain with Mrs Luxington, but he didn't plan on having any thoughts of firing her from the school either. Mrs Luxington smiled as Artemis stood up at the end of the last session.

"You can choose what path you want to take- everybody dies in the end, so it's up to you to choose the way you live, and the way you die, Artemis."

Artemis didn't nearly smile, but actually did smile.

"I think someone once told me that before," he replied, fondly remembering the words.

"A friend?"

Artemis paused, and then nodded at her.

"Yes, a friend."

The day passed by, as Artemis wandered from class to class. Some things never changed. Artemis still found his fellow classmates invariably stupid, and his teachers irritating as they administered work full of grammatical errors, to which Artemis would politely, but somewhat in an intimidating way, point them out to the teacher. As usual, Artemis went to the library during his English class, where he spent the free time gaming the school networks. Yes, some things couldn't possibly change.

It was Butler who usually chauffeured Artemis around, but not this time. Recently gaining a legal driver's licence, Artemis had looked around for a new vehicle for himself, and had chosen a black V12 Aston Martin. Instead of driving back to the Manor, however, the Artemis parked in front of the entrance of St Madeleine's Seminar for Young Ladies, where he waited for his new friend. Despite both Holly's and Ruby's assurances that friendship wasn't a subject that one had to study, Artemis had promptly ignored them, and diligently studied the topic anyway. It made no difference, either way; the point was, really, that Artemis wanted to socialise at all. Climbing out of his car, Artemis walked through the gates, and down to the Biology classrooms, where he knew was Ruby's last subject. Leaning straight against the wall, he waited for the remaining minutes to end for the bell to ring it's last for the day.

The doors flung open at the sound of the last bell, and a line of chattering girls made their way out of the classroom. Ruby was the last one, and there was no flicker of surprise on her face at all, that Artemis would be waiting for her. Her shy face split into a wide smile at the sight of him, however, and Artemis found himself secretly pleased. Walking her to her locker, he said,

"You don't seem surprised at all."

Ruby laughed as she closed the lock, and lifted her bag onto her shoulder.

"I saw you from inside- there was a window right where you were standing."

Artemis managed a sheepish grin.

"I'm afraid my observational skills aren't what they once were," he joked.

Ruby laughed again. It was an open sound, full of brightness, and Artemis found it infectious. Ruby stole a sly look at him.

"Everybody else noticed you, too," she said. "It's not often when there's good-looking guy outside your Biology classroom, especially when he's waiting for _you._"

Artemis pulled a grin, and found that it took him nearly no effort at all.

"Well, now I know it's definitely time to visit my optometrist- I noticed nothing at all." He frowned as something suddenly sank into his head.

"What do you mean by a good-looking guy outside your Biology classroom?" he asked. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," she said.

They had reached the car by now, and Artemis opened the passenger door for her. Ruby quickly scanned around the car park down the road.

"What happened to my car?" she asked. Artemis shrugged.

"You don't really need it- I sent it off," he said carelessly, and motioned her to get in. Scowling, Ruby climbed in.

"How did you know what car I drove, anyway? You've never even seen it."

"What, the navy-blue M5?" Artemis laughed. Ruby tried to look amazed, but failed.

"I probably should have known you would have checked beforehand."

"But of course," Artemis said, and backed out of the parking space with two dangerously close cars in front and behind.

Noticing that they were not going in the direction of home, Ruby said,

"Where are we going?"

Artemis smiled slightly, but kept on driving.

"Somewhere," he said, distracted by something unknown to her. He continued to drive, until the highway ended, and they were going down an off roads track. Artemis muttered something too low for her to hear, he was frowning. Suddenly making a sharp turn into the middle of nowhere, he drove down a reserve that had no tracks at all.

"Artemis, where are we going? Your car's too low for this slope, you'll crash; do you even have a licence?"

"Of course I do," he said indignantly. "I just wanted to show you a place. We'll be out of here in minutes." The low-framed car seemed unaffected by the deep slope that it was driving down, and Ruby was curious to know how. Putting her thoughts to the back of the head, however, she remained silent. Suddenly, the car halted. Ruby recognised the place- it was the Waldron Woods- it could only be, considering the direction they had taken. Cautiously, Ruby opened the door, and followed to where Artemis was leading. A look of triumph crossed his face as he turned to look at her.

"It's here," he said, and walked into what looked like a giant hedge before him. Ruby hesitated, but then walked in after him. The hedge was surprisingly soft as she walked through it. And then her mouth dropped open at what she saw before her.

**:x:**

**A nice change for Artemis, huh? I think it's the most radical chapter yet…hehe. I should be able to update soon, but actually, I'm considering making this chapter into a sequel to all the chapters before it…because it's now a romance…XD. Tell me what you think. Personally, I think the chapters before were really repetitive…which is why I'm rewriting them.**

**Quiz: **What sort of car is an M5?

_a) Merc_

_b) Chrysler_

_c) BMW_

_d) Porsche_

**Have fun guessing…LOL. Just for your interest, for the first time ever, I actually wrote this chapter in a pink-chequered background. Usually for Artemis Fowl fanfics, I write with a black background, or a blue one, heh.**

**Please review- I really want to know what you think about this chapter!!!!**

**-Evalia**


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